bill requiring a safety course before any handgun transfer

The text as introduced · 616 words

89R4995 JSC-D

By: Rosenthal
H.B. No. 1599

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a handgun safety course required for the transfer of a

handgun.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 411, Government Code, is amended by

adding Subchapter H-1 to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER H-1. HANDGUN SAFETY

Sec. 411.221. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Handgun" has the meaning assigned by Section

46.01, Penal Code.

(2) "Qualified handgun instructor" has the meaning

assigned by Section 411.171.

Sec. 411.222. HANDGUN SAFETY COURSE. (a) The director by

rule shall establish minimum standards for a handgun safety course

that a person may complete to receive a certificate of completion

from the department under this section. The course must be

administered by a qualified handgun instructor.

(b) The department shall issue a certificate of completion

to a person who completes the handgun safety course under

Subsection (a).

(c) A person is responsible for paying to the course

provider the costs of a handgun safety course under this section.

SECTION 2. Section 46.06(a), Penal Code, is amended to read

as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense if the person:

(1) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to

any person knowing that the person to whom the handgun is to be

delivered intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an

unlawful act;

(2) intentionally or knowingly sells, rents, leases,

or gives or offers to sell, rent, lease, or give to any child

younger than 18 years of age any firearm, club, or

location-restricted knife;

(3) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly sells a

firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any person who is

intoxicated;

(4) knowingly sells a firearm or ammunition for a

firearm to any person who has been convicted of a felony before the

fifth anniversary of the later of the following dates:

(A) the person's release from confinement

following conviction of the felony; or

(B) the person's release from supervision under

community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision following

conviction of the felony;

(5) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to

any person knowing that an active protective order is directed to

the person to whom the handgun is to be delivered;

(6) knowingly purchases, rents, leases, or receives as

a loan or gift from another a handgun while an active protective

order is directed to the actor; [ or ]

(7) while prohibited from possessing a firearm under

state or federal law, knowingly makes a material false statement on

a form that is:

(A) required by state or federal law for the

purchase, sale, or other transfer of a firearm; and

(B) submitted to a firearms dealer licensed under

18 U.S.C. Section 923 ; or

(8) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to

any person without first verifying that the person possesses a

certificate of completion issued by the Department of Public Safety

under Section 411.222, Government Code .

SECTION 3. The public safety director of the Department of

Public Safety shall adopt the rules necessary to implement Section

411.222, Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than

December 1, 2025.

SECTION 4. Section 46.06(a), Penal Code, as amended by this

Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after January 1,

2026. An offense committed before January 1, 2026, is governed by

the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the

former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of

this section, an offense was committed before January 1, 2026, if

any element of the offense occurred before that date.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.