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By:  Dutton                                                       H.B. No. 1651



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to prohibiting the sale of fireworks by or to a person 
under 18 years of age and to the prosecution of offenses involving 
fireworks.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 2154.251, Occupations Code, is amended 
by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
	(c)  A person may not in the course of the person's business 
employ or allow a person under 18 years of age to manufacture, 
distribute, sell, or use fireworks.
	SECTION 2.  Section 2154.252(c), Occupations Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	(c)  A person [Fireworks] may not sell or offer to sell 
fireworks [be sold or offered for sale] to a person [children] under 
18 [12] years of age or to an intoxicated or incompetent person.  A 
person selling fireworks at retail shall make a reasonable effort 
to determine that potential purchasers of fireworks are of the 
minimum age required by this subsection.
	SECTION 3.  Section 2154.303(c), Occupations Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	(c)  A violation of Section 2154.251(a)(1), (2), (3), (4), or 
(5) that results in property damage in an amount of less than $200 
and does not result in bodily injury or death is a Class C 
misdemeanor.  A violation of Section 2154.252(c) is a Class C 
misdemeanor.
	SECTION 4.  (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply 
only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this 
Act.  For purposes of this section, 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 covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, 
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect June 20, 2005, if it 
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each 
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate 
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005.