BILL ANALYSIS
By: Hilderbran
Culture, Recreation, & Tourism
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Currently it is not a violation of the law to discharge a firearm across a property line. This creates a very unsafe environment in areas where there are smaller tracks of land.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
CS HB 505 would amend Chapter 62 of the Parks and Wildlife Code to create a Class C misdemeanor when a person hunting or engaging in recreational shooting knowingly discharges a firearm across a property line without the consent of the landowner. It further provides a defense.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
C.S.H.B. 505 creates a legislative council draft for H.B. 505.
This substitute specifies that the person who knowingly discharges a firearm must be hunting or engaging in recreational shooting. It also adds a defense to prosecution under this section. The additional defense includes written agreement by the owner of property on either side of the property line that the projectile crosses. The written agreement must contain the name of the person allowed to hunt, identify the property crossed by the projectile, and be signed by the owner of the property giving consent.