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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of the |
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possession, manufacture, transport, repair, or sale of certain |
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devices intended to modify firearms. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 46.05, Penal Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (a) and (e) and adding Subsections (e-1) and |
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(e-2) to read as follows: |
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(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally |
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or knowingly possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs, or |
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sells: |
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(1) any of the following items, unless the item is |
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registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer |
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Record maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and |
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Explosives or otherwise not subject to that registration |
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requirement or unless the item is classified as a curio or relic by |
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the United States Department of Justice: |
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(A) an explosive weapon; |
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(B) a machine gun; or |
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(C) a short-barrel firearm; |
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(2) armor-piercing ammunition; |
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(3) a chemical dispensing device; |
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(4) a zip gun; |
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(5) a tire deflation device; [or] |
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(6) an improvised explosive device; or |
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(7) a device that is designed and intended to: |
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(A) make a handgun capable of automatically |
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shooting more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single |
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function of the trigger; or |
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(B) increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic |
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rifle but that does not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a |
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machine gun. |
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(e) Except as [otherwise] provided by Subsections (e-1) and |
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(e-2) [this subsection], an offense under this section is a felony |
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of the third degree. |
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(e-1) An offense under Subsection (a)(5) is a state jail |
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felony. |
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(e-2) An offense under Subsection (a)(7) is a state jail |
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felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if |
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it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has been |
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previously convicted of an offense under that subdivision. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |