88R9475 AJZ-D
 
  By: Goodwin H.B. No. 1995
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to requiring a licensed firearms dealer to report certain
  sales or transfers of multiple semiautomatic rifles to law
  enforcement; creating a criminal offense.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Title 6, Business & Commerce Code, is amended by
  adding Chapter 205 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 205. REPORTS OF CERTAIN MULTIPLE TRANSFERS OF
  SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES
  SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
         Sec. 205.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Department" means the Department of Public Safety
  of the State of Texas.
               (2)  "Licensed firearms dealer" means a person who is
  licensed as a firearms dealer under 18 U.S.C. Section 923.
         Sec. 205.002.  APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
  a semiautomatic rifle that:
               (1)  is capable of accepting a detachable magazine; and
               (2)  has a caliber greater than .22.
  SUBCHAPTER B.  REQUIRED REPORTING OF CERTAIN MULTIPLE SALES OR
  TRANSFERS OF SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES
         Sec. 205.051.  REPORT BY LICENSED FIREARMS DEALER. (a) This
  section applies only to a sale or transfer of two or more
  semiautomatic rifles to which this chapter applies made to the same
  transferee, other than a licensed firearms dealer, on a single
  occasion or on more than one occasion during a period of five
  consecutive business days.
         (b)  A licensed firearms dealer shall report to the
  department, in the form and manner prescribed by the department
  under Section 205.101, the multiple sales or transfers described by
  Subsection (a).
         (c)  Before completing a sale or transfer of a semiautomatic
  rifle to which this chapter applies the licensed firearms dealer
  making the sale or transfer shall:
               (1)  review the items in the current sale or transfer
  and any recent previous sales and transfers by the dealer to that
  transferee to determine whether the reporting duties of this
  subchapter apply to the dealer as a result of that sale or transfer;
  and
               (2)  submit a report, if required, under Subsection
  (b).
         (d)  A report submitted by a licensed firearms dealer to the
  department under this section is confidential and not subject to
  disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
         Sec. 205.052.  REPORT TO SHERIFF AND POLICE DEPARTMENT. (a)  
  Not later than 24 hours after receiving a report from a licensed
  firearms dealer under Section 205.051(b), the department shall
  transmit the report to:
               (1)  the sheriff of each county in which the applicable
  sales or transfers occurred;
               (2)  the sheriff of the county in which the transferee
  resides;
               (3)  if any of the applicable sales or transfers
  occurred in a municipality, the police department of each
  municipality in which the applicable sales or transfers occurred;
  and
               (4)  if the transferee resides in a municipality, the
  police department of the municipality in which the transferee
  resides.
         (b)  Information in a report submitted to a county sheriff or
  a police department under Subsection (a) is confidential and not
  subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
         Sec. 205.053.  OFFENSE. (a) A licensed firearms dealer who,
  with criminal negligence, violates Section 205.051 commits an
  offense.
         (b)  An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
  SUBCHAPTER C. FORMS
         Sec. 205.101.  FORM FOR SUBMISSION OF FIREARMS DEALER
  REPORT. (a) For purposes of the report required by Section
  205.051(b), the department shall require a licensed firearms dealer
  to use a form prescribed by the department.
         (b)  The form prescribed under Subsection (a) must:
               (1)  include:
                     (A)  the dates and locations of the applicable
  sales or transfers;
                     (B)  the number of semiautomatic rifles sold or
  transferred;
                     (C)  the identity and location of the licensed
  firearms dealer, including the locations where each applicable
  transfer occurred; and
                     (D)  the identity of the transferee; and
               (2)  require the licensed firearms dealer to submit a
  copy of the identification provided by the transferee for the
  purchase.
         (c)  The department shall post on the department's publicly
  accessible Internet website:
               (1)  the form required by this section; and
               (2)  instructions for submitting the form and related
  documentation, including an e-mail address or electronic portal
  that may be used to submit the form and documentation.
         SECTION 2.  Not later than September 1, 2023, the Department
  of Public Safety shall develop the form for reporting multiple
  semiautomatic rifle sales, as required by Section 205.101, Business &
  Commerce Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to the sale or transfer of a semiautomatic rifle that occurs on or
  after the effective date of this Act. A sale or transfer of a
  semiautomatic rifle that occurs before the effective date of this
  Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
  effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.