By Barrientos S.B. No. 1561
74R8205 PEP-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to training in the proper use and safe storage of a
1-3 handgun and to the offense of unlawful transfer of a handgun.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the right of an
1-6 individual to own a handgun is protected under the Second Amendment
1-7 to the United States Constitution but that inadequate training in
1-8 the use and safe storage of a handgun leads to accidental deaths
1-9 that may be avoided. The legislature also finds that requiring an
1-10 individual to be issued a certificate as evidence that the
1-11 individual is trained in handgun proficiency and safety before the
1-12 individual may own, purchase, or otherwise obtain a handgun is in
1-13 the best interest of the health and safety of the citizens of this
1-14 state.
1-15 SECTION 2. Sections 46.06(a) and (b), Penal Code, are
1-16 amended to read as follows:
1-17 (a) A person commits an offense if the person <he>:
1-18 (1) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
1-19 any person knowing that the person to whom the handgun is to be
1-20 delivered intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an
1-21 unlawful act;
1-22 (2) intentionally or knowingly sells, rents, leases,
1-23 or gives or offers to sell, rent, lease, or give to any child
1-24 younger than 18 years any firearm, club, or illegal knife;
2-1 (3) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly sells a
2-2 firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any person who is
2-3 intoxicated; <or>
2-4 (4) knowingly sells a firearm or ammunition for a
2-5 firearm to any person who has been convicted of a felony before the
2-6 fifth anniversary of the later of the following dates:
2-7 (A) the person's release from confinement
2-8 following conviction of the felony; or
2-9 (B) the person's release from supervision under
2-10 community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision following
2-11 conviction of the felony; or
2-12 (5) knowingly sells, rents, leases, or gives a handgun
2-13 to a person without receiving from the person:
2-14 (A) a copy of a certificate issued to the person
2-15 as evidence that the person successfully completed a handgun
2-16 proficiency and safety course approved by the Department of Public
2-17 Safety on a determination by the department that the course:
2-18 (i) meets or exceeds the requirements set
2-19 by the National Rifle Association as of January 1, 1995, for the
2-20 handgun proficiency and safety course that requires not less than
2-21 16 hours of instruction;
2-22 (ii) is administered by a qualified
2-23 instructor; and
2-24 (iii) includes a criminal history
2-25 background check of the person conducted by a qualified instructor
2-26 of the course; or
2-27 (B) a written statement issued not earlier than
3-1 the 10th day before the date of the transfer by the chief law
3-2 enforcement officer of the place of residence of the person to whom
3-3 a handgun is to be transferred stating that the person requires
3-4 access to a handgun because of a threat to the life of the person
3-5 or a member of the person's household.
3-6 (b) In <For purposes of> this section:<,>
3-7 (1) "Chief law enforcement officer" means the chief of
3-8 police, the sheriff, or a designee of the chief of police or
3-9 sheriff.
3-10 (2) "Intoxicated" <"intoxicated"> means substantial
3-11 impairment of mental or physical capacity resulting from
3-12 introduction of any substance into the body.
3-13 SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
3-14 amended by adding Section 411.047 to read as follows:
3-15 Sec. 411.047. HANDGUN PROFICIENCY AND SAFETY RECORDS. (a)
3-16 The bureau of identification and records shall establish and
3-17 maintain a central repository for the collection of information
3-18 relating to any person who is issued a certificate described by
3-19 Section 46.06(a)(5)(A), Penal Code, as evidence that the person
3-20 successfully completed a handgun proficiency and safety course
3-21 approved by the department.
3-22 (b) The department may release information in the repository
3-23 established under Subsection (a) to:
3-24 (1) a local law enforcement agency, political
3-25 subdivision, or state agency to the extent the information is
3-26 reasonably necessary or useful to the agency or subdivision in
3-27 carrying out duties imposed by law on the agency or subdivision; or
4-1 (2) a member of the public who requests the
4-2 information with respect to a named individual, but only to the
4-3 extent that the information indicates whether the named individual
4-4 was issued a certificate.
4-5 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
4-6 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
4-7 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-8 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-9 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-10 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.