By Hinojosa                                           H.B. No. 2568
         77R8418 GWK-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1. Section 46.04, Penal Code, is amended to read as
 1-5     follows:
 1-6           Sec. 46.04.  UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF FIREARM BY FELON. (a)  A
 1-7     person who has been convicted of a felony commits an offense if he
 1-8     possesses a firearm:
 1-9                 (1)  after conviction and before the fifth anniversary
1-10     of the person's release from confinement following conviction of
1-11     the felony or the person's release from supervision under community
1-12     supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision, whichever date is
1-13     later; or
1-14                 (2)  after the period described by Subdivision (1), at
1-15     any location other than the premises at which the person lives.
1-16           (b)  A person commits an offense if the person has been
1-17     placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for a felony
1-18     under Section 5, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, and
1-19     possesses a firearm after the placement and before the fifth
1-20     anniversary of the date on which the proceedings are dismissed and
1-21     the person is discharged under Section 5(c), Article 42.12.
1-22           (c)  For purposes of this section, a defendant has been
1-23     convicted of a felony if the defendant was adjudged guilty of the
1-24     offense or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in return
 2-1     for a grant of deferred adjudication, regardless of whether the
 2-2     sentence for the offense was ever imposed or whether the sentence
 2-3     was probated and the defendant was subsequently discharged from
 2-4     community supervision.
 2-5           (d)  An offense under this section is a felony of the third
 2-6     degree.
 2-7           SECTION 2. (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
 2-8     only to a defendant charged with an offense under Section 46.04,
 2-9     Penal Code, as amended by this Act, committed on or after the
2-10     effective date of this Act.  For purposes of this section, an
2-11     offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any
2-12     element of the offense occurs before the effective date.
2-13           (b)  An offense under Section 46.04, Penal Code, committed
2-14     before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
2-15     effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
2-16     continued in effect for that purpose.
2-17           SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.