bill barring gun transfers to people under mental health commitments

The text as introduced · 667 words

89R4454 AJZ-D

By: Goodwin
H.B. No. 1692

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of unlawful

transfer of a firearm.

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

SECTION 1. Section 46.06, Penal Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) 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) knowingly sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a

firearm to a person who the actor knows, or has reasonable cause to

believe, is:

(A) a person receiving inpatient mental health

services by order of a court under Chapter 574, Health and Safety

Code;

(B) a person who has been acquitted in a criminal

case by reason of insanity or lack of mental responsibility,

regardless of whether the person was ordered by a court to receive

inpatient treatment or residential care under Chapter 46C, Code of

Criminal Procedure;

(C) a person who has been determined to have an

intellectual disability and committed by a court for long-term

placement in a residential care facility under Chapter 593, Health

and Safety Code;

(D) an incapacitated adult for whom a court has

appointed a guardian of the person under Title 3, Estates Code,

based on a determination that the person lacks the mental capacity

to manage the person's affairs; or

(E) a person determined to be incompetent to

stand trial under Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure .

(e) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(8)

that the transfer is to a person who:

(1) is the subject of a judicial order or finding that

the person is no longer an incapacitated adult or is entitled to

relief from disabilities under Section 574.088, Health and Safety

Code; or

(2) has obtained notice of relief from disabilities

under 18 U.S.C. Section 925.

SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only

to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.

An offense committed before the effective date of this Act 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 the

effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred

before that date.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.