TITLE: Relating to the age at which a person not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm may carry a handgun or is eligible for a license to carry a handgun.

SUMMARY: Relating to the age at which a person not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm may carry a handgun or is eligible for a license to carry a handgun.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the age at which a person not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm may carry a handgun or is eligible for a license to carry a handgun. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. The Legislature of the State of Texas finds that: (1) the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms, to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense; (2) Section 23, Article I, of the Texas Constitution secures for Texas citizens the right to keep and bear arms; (3) the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Firearms Policy Coal., Inc. v. McCraw,623 F. Supp. 3d 740 (N.D. Tex. 2022), recognized the right of responsible individuals aged 18, 19, and 20 to carry a handgun outside the home for self-defense and found that Texas's statutory scheme and the prohibition imposed on these individuals under Section 46.02, Penal Code, and Section 411.172, Government Code, infringed on rights protected by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution; (4) to ensure clarity in the law and consistency with constitutional principles, the eligibility criteria for carrying a handgun in Texas without a license and for obtaining a license to carry a handgun should include responsible individuals aged 18, 19, and 20 who are not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm; and (5) persons who are currently prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law will not gain the right to possess or carry a firearm under this legislation. SECTION 2. Section 411.047(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows: (b) Such statistics shall be drawn and reported annually from the Department of Public Safety computerized criminal history file on persons 18 [21] years of age and older and shall be compared in numerical and graphical format to all like offenses committed in the state for the reporting period as a percentage of the total of such reported offenses. SECTION 3. Section 411.172(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) A person is eligible for a license to carry a handgun if the person: (1) is a legal resident of this state for the six-month period preceding the date of application under this subchapter or is otherwise eligible for a license under Section 411.173(a); (2) is at least 18 [21] years of age; (3) has not been convicted of a felony; (4) is not charged with the commission of a Class A or Class Bmisdemeanor or equivalent offense, or of an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense, or of a felony under an information or indictment; (5) is not a fugitive from justice for a felony or a Class A or Class Bmisdemeanor or equivalent offense; (6) is not a chemically dependent person; (7) is not incapable of exercising sound judgment with respect to the proper use and storage of a handgun; (8) has not, in the five years preceding the date of application, been convicted of a Class A or Class Bmisdemeanor or equivalent offense or of an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense; (9) is fully qualified under applicable federal and state law to possess [purchase] a handgun; (10) has not been finally determined to be delinquent in making a child support payment administered or collected by the attorney general; (11) has not been finally determined to be delinquent in the payment of a tax or other money collected by the comptroller, the tax collector of a political subdivision of the state, or any agency or subdivision of the state; (12) is not currently restricted under a court protective order or subject to a restraining order affecting the spousal relationship, other than a restraining order solely affecting property interests; (13) has not, in the 10 years preceding the date of application, been adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct violating a penal law of the grade of felony; and (14) has not made any material misrepresentation, or failed to disclose any material fact, in an application submitted pursuant to Section 411.174. SECTION 4. Section 411.179(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) The department by rule shall adopt the form of the license. A license must include: (1) a number assigned to the license holder by the department; (2) a statement of the period for which the license is effective; (3) a photograph of the license holder; (4) the license holder's full name, date of birth, hair and eye color, height, weight, and signature; (5) the license holder's residence address or, as provided by Subsection (d), the street address of the courthouse in which the license holder or license holder's spouse or parent serves as a federal judge or the license holder serves as a state judge; (6) the number of a driver's license or an identification certificate issued to the license holder by the department; (7) the designation "VETERAN" if required under Subsection (e); and (8) any at-risk designation for which the license holder has established eligibility under Section 411.184 [; and [(9) if applicable, a protective order designation under Section 411.1735].SECTION 5. Section 411.205, Government Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 411.205. REQUIREMENT TO DISPLAY LICENSE. If a license holder is carrying a handgun on or about the license holder's person when a magistrate or a peace officer demands that the license holder display identification, the license holder shall display [: [(1)] both the license holder's driver's license or identification certificate issued by the department and the license holder's handgun license [; and [(2) if the license holder's handgun license bears a protective order designation, a copy of the applicable court order under which the license holder is protected].SECTION 6. Sections 46.02(a) and (a-1), Penal Code, are amended to read as follows: (a) A person commits an offense if the person: (1) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun; (2) at the time of the offense: (A) is younger than 18 [21] years of age; or (B) has been convicted of an offense under Section 22.01(a)(1), 22.05, 22.07, or 42.01(a)(7) or (8) committed in the five-year period preceding the date the instant offense was committed; and (3) is not: (A) on the person's own premises or premises under the person's control; or (B) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle or watercraft that is owned by the person or under the person's control. (a-1) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun in a motor vehicle or watercraft that is owned by the person or under the person's control at any time in which: (1) the handgun is in plain view, unless the person is 18 [21] years of age or older [or is licensed to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code] and the handgun is carried in a holster; or (2) the person is: (A) engaged in criminal activity, other than a Class Cmisdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance regulating traffic or boating; or (B) prohibited by law from possessing a firearm. SECTION 7. The following provisions of the Government Code are repealed: (1) Sections 411.172(g), (h), and (i); and (2) Section 411.1735. SECTION 8. A handgun license that bears a protective order designation under former Section 411.1735, Government Code, as repealed by this Act, and that is valid on the effective date of this Act remains valid until the 22nd birthday of the license holder, regardless of whether the license holder continues to be protected under a protective order described by former Section 411.172(i), Government Code, as repealed by this Act. A license holder described by this section may apply for a handgun license that does not bear the protective order designation by using the renewal procedure under Section 411.185, Government Code, regardless of whether the license that bears the designation has expired or is about to expire. SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.