bill raises nitrous oxide buying age from 18 to 21

The text as introduced · 760 words

89R4207 RDR-D

By: Hughes
S.B. No. 666

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the age at which a person may purchase or possess

nitrous oxide.

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

SECTION 1. Section 485.017, Health and Safety Code, is

amended to read as follows:

Sec. 485.017. SIGNS. A business establishment that sells

an abusable volatile chemical at retail shall display a conspicuous

sign, in English and Spanish, that states the following:

It is unlawful for a person to sell or deliver an

abusable volatile chemical to a person under 18 years of age.

Except in limited situations, such an offense is a state jail

felony.

It is unlawful for a person to sell nitrous oxide to a

person under 21 years of age. Except in limited situations, such an

offense is a state jail felony.

It is also unlawful for a person to abuse a volatile

chemical by inhaling, ingesting, applying, using, or possessing

with intent to inhale, ingest, apply, or use a volatile chemical in

a manner designed to affect the central nervous system. Such an

offense is a Class B misdemeanor.

SECTION 2. The heading to Section 485.032, Health and

Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 485.032. PROHIBITED DELIVERY OR SALE [ TO A MINOR ].

SECTION 3. Section 485.032, Health and Safety Code, is

amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections

(c-1) and (c-2) to read as follows:

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

(1) delivers an abusable volatile chemical other than

nitrous oxide to a person who is younger than 18 years of age ;

(2) delivers nitrous oxide to a person who is younger

than 18 years of age; or

(3) sells nitrous oxide to a person who is younger than

21 years of age .

(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under

Subsection (a)(1) or (2) [ this section ] that:

(1) the person making the delivery is an adult having

supervisory responsibility over the person younger than 18 years of

age and:

(A) the adult permits the use of the abusable

volatile chemical only under the adult's direct supervision and in

the adult's presence and only for its intended purpose; and

(B) the adult removes the chemical from the

person younger than 18 years of age on completion of that use; or

(2) the person to whom the abusable volatile chemical

was delivered presented to the actor [ defendant ] an apparently

valid Texas driver's license or an identification certificate,

issued by the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas and

containing a physical description consistent with the person's

appearance, that purported to establish that the person was 18

years of age or older.

(c-1) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under

Subsection (a)(2) or (3) that the person to whom the nitrous oxide

was sold or delivered was using the nitrous oxide in connection with

a lawful commercial purpose.

(c-2) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under

Subsection (a)(3) that the person to whom the nitrous oxide was sold

presented to the actor an apparently valid Texas driver's license

or an identification certificate, issued by the Department of

Public Safety of the State of Texas and containing a physical

description consistent with the person's appearance, that

purported to establish that the person was 21 years of age or older.

SECTION 4. Section 485.035, Health and Safety Code, is

amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to

read as follows:

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

abusable volatile chemical , other than nitrous oxide, in violation

of Section 485.011 and the purchaser is 18 years of age or older.

(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person sells

nitrous oxide in violation of Section 485.011 and the purchaser is

21 years of age or older.

SECTION 5. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to

Chapter 485, Health and Safety Code, apply only to an offense

committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes

of this subsection, an offense is committed before the effective

date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before that

date.

(b) 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.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.