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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the unlawful possession of a firearm by persons who are |
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subject to certain judicial determinations; creating a criminal |
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offense. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 46.04, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Subsections (b-1) and (h) and amending Subsection (e) to read as |
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follows: |
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(b-1) A person commits an offense if the person possesses a |
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firearm and at the time of the offense the person: |
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(1) has been ordered by a court to receive inpatient |
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mental health services under Chapter 574, Health and Safety Code; |
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(2) has been acquitted in a criminal case by reason of |
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insanity or lack of mental responsibility, regardless of whether |
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the person was ordered by a court to receive inpatient treatment or |
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residential care under Chapter 46C, Code of Criminal Procedure; |
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(3) has been determined to be a person with an |
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intellectual disability and has been committed by a court for |
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long-term placement in a residential care facility under Chapter |
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593, Health and Safety Code; |
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(4) is an incapacitated adult for whom a court has |
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appointed a guardian of the person under Title 3, Estates Code, |
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based on a determination that the person lacks the mental capacity |
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to manage the person's affairs; or |
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(5) has been determined to be incompetent to stand |
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trial under Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure. |
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(e) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, |
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except that an offense under Subsection (a) is a felony of the third |
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degree. [An offense under Subsection (b) or (c) is a Class A
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misdemeanor.] |
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(h) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b-1) |
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that at the time of the offense: |
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(1) the person is the subject of a judicial order or |
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finding that the person is no longer an incapacitated adult or is |
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entitled to relief from disabilities under Section 574.088, Health |
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and Safety Code; or |
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(2) the person has obtained notice of relief from |
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disabilities under 18 U.S.C. Section 925. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |