Lalani Bill’s Sex Offender Gun Ban Skips Everyone Already Registered

The text as introduced · 1,003 words

89R4838 MCF-D

By: Lalani
H.B. No. 770

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to prohibiting a sex offender from possessing a firearm.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 62, Code of Criminal

Procedure, is amended by adding Article 62.066 to read as follows:

Art. 62.066. PROHIBITED FIREARM POSSESSION. A person

subject to registration under this chapter may not possess a

firearm as defined by Section 46.01, Penal Code.

SECTION 2. Article 62.053(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,

is amended to read as follows:

(a) Before a person who will be subject to registration

under this chapter is due to be released from a penal institution,

the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or the Texas Juvenile

Justice Department shall determine the person's level of risk to

the community using the sex offender screening tool developed or

selected under Article 62.007 and assign to the person a numeric

risk level of one, two, or three. Before releasing the person, an

official of the penal institution shall:

(1) inform the person that:

(A) not later than the later of the seventh day

after the date on which the person is released or after the date on

which the person moves from a previous residence to a new residence

in this state or not later than the first date the applicable local

law enforcement authority by policy allows the person to register

or verify registration, the person must register or verify

registration with the local law enforcement authority in the

municipality or county in which the person intends to reside;

(B) not later than the seventh day after the date

on which the person is released or the date on which the person

moves from a previous residence to a new residence in this state,

the person must, if the person has not moved to an intended

residence, report to the applicable entity or entities as required

by Article 62.051(h) or (j) or 62.055(e);

(C) not later than the seventh day before the

date on which the person moves to a new residence in this state or

another state, the person must report in person to the local law

enforcement authority designated as the person's primary

registration authority by the department and to the juvenile

probation officer, community supervision and corrections

department officer, or parole officer supervising the person;

(D) not later than the 10th day after the date on

which the person arrives in another state in which the person

intends to reside, the person must register with the law

enforcement agency that is identified by the department as the

agency designated by that state to receive registration

information, if the other state has a registration requirement for

sex offenders;

(E) not later than the 30th day after the date on

which the person is released, the person must apply to the

department in person for the issuance of an original or renewal

driver's license or personal identification certificate and a

failure to apply to the department as required by this paragraph

results in the automatic revocation of any driver's license or

personal identification certificate issued by the department to the

person;

(F) the person must notify appropriate entities

of any change in status as described by Article 62.057;

(G) certain types of employment are prohibited

under Article 62.063 for a person with a reportable conviction or

adjudication for a sexually violent offense involving a victim

younger than 14 years of age and occurring on or after September 1,

2013;

(H) certain locations of residence are

prohibited under Article 62.064 for a person with a reportable

conviction or adjudication for an offense occurring on or after

September 1, 2017, except as otherwise provided by that article;

[ and ]

(I) if the person enters the premises of a school

as described by Article 62.065 and is subject to the requirements of

that article, the person must immediately notify the administrative

office of the school of the person's presence and the person's

registration status under this chapter; and

(J) a person with a reportable conviction or

adjudication for an offense occurring on or after September 1,

2025, may not possess a firearm, as provided by Article 62.066;

(2) require the person to sign a written statement

that the person was informed of the person's duties as described by

Subdivision (1) or Subsection (g) or, if the person refuses to sign

the statement, certify that the person was so informed;

(3) obtain the address or, if applicable, a detailed

description of each geographical location where the person expects

to reside on the person's release and other registration

information, including a photograph and complete set of

fingerprints; and

(4) complete the registration form for the person.

SECTION 3. Article 62.058(g), Code of Criminal Procedure,

is amended to read as follows:

(g) A local law enforcement authority that provides to a

person a registration form for verification as required by this

chapter shall include with the form a statement describing the

prohibitions [ prohibition ] under Articles [ Article ] 62.064 and

62.066 .

SECTION 4. (a) Article 62.066, Code of Criminal Procedure,

as added by this Act, applies only to a person who is required to

register under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, on the basis

of a conviction or adjudication for 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.

(b) A person who is required to register under Chapter 62,

Code of Criminal Procedure, solely on the basis of a conviction or

adjudication that occurs before the effective date of this Act is

governed by the law in effect on the date the conviction or

adjudication occurred, and the former law is continued in effect

for that purpose.

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