Relating to the authority of a municipality or county to regulate certain matters related to firearms, air guns, archery equipment, and other weapons and related supplies.
relating to the authority of a municipality or county to regulate
certain matters related to firearms, air guns, archery equipment,
and other weapons and related supplies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 229.001, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 229.001. FIREARMS; AIR GUNS; ARCHERY EQUIPMENT;
KNIVES; EXPLOSIVES.
SECTION 2. Sections 229.001(a), (b), (b-1), (c), and (d),
Local Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, including Section 43.002
of this code and Chapter 251, Agriculture Code, a municipality may
not adopt or enforce regulations that:
(1) relate to:
(A) the transfer, possession, wearing, carrying,
ownership, storage, transportation, licensing, or registration of
firearms, air guns, archery equipment, knives, ammunition, or
firearm or air gun supplies or accessories;
(B) commerce in firearms, air guns, archery
equipment, knives, ammunition, or firearm or air gun supplies or
accessories; or
(C) the discharge of a firearm, [or] air gun, or
archery equipment at a sport shooting range; or
(2) require an owner of a firearm or archery equipment
to obtain liability insurance coverage for damages resulting from
negligent or wilful acts involving the use of the firearm or archery
equipment.
(b) Subsection (a) does not affect the authority a
municipality has under another law to:
(1) require residents or public employees to be armed
for personal or national defense, law enforcement, or another
lawful purpose;
(2) regulate the discharge of firearms, [or] air guns,
or archery equipment within the limits of the municipality, other
than at a sport shooting range;
(3) except as provided by Subsection (b-1), adopt or
enforce a generally applicable zoning ordinance, land use
regulation, fire code, or business ordinance;
(4) regulate the storage or transportation of
explosives to protect public health and safety, except that 25
pounds or less of black powder for each private residence and 50
pounds or less of black powder for each retail dealer are not
subject to regulation;
(5) regulate the carrying of an air gun, archery
equipment, or firearm, other than a handgun carried by a person not
otherwise prohibited by law from carrying a handgun, at a:
(A) public park;
(B) public meeting of a municipality, county, or
other governmental body;
(C) political rally, parade, or official
political meeting; or
(D) nonfirearms-related school, college, or
professional athletic event;
(6) regulate the carrying of a firearm by a person
licensed to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
Government Code, in accordance with Section 411.209, Government
Code;
(7) regulate the hours of operation of a sport
shooting range, except that the hours of operation may not be more
limited than the least limited hours of operation of any other
business in the municipality other than a business permitted or
licensed to sell or serve alcoholic beverages for on-premises
consumption;
(8) regulate the carrying of an air gun by a minor on:
(A) public property; or
(B) private property without consent of the
property owner; or
(9) except as provided by Subsection (d-1), regulate
or prohibit an employee’s carrying or possession of a firearm,
firearm accessory, or ammunition in the course of the employee’s
official duties.
(b-1) The exception provided by Subsection (b)(3) does not
apply if the ordinance or regulation is designed or enforced to
effectively restrict or prohibit the manufacture, sale, purchase,
transfer, or display of archery equipment, firearms, firearm
accessories, or ammunition that is otherwise lawful in this state.
(c) The exception provided by Subsection (b)(5) does not
apply:
(1) if the firearm, [or] air gun, or archery equipment
is in or is carried to or from an area designated for use in a lawful
hunting, fishing, or other sporting event and the firearm, [or] air
gun, or archery equipment is of the type commonly used in the
activity; or
(2) to a person licensed to carry a handgun under
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code.
(d) Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize
the seizure or confiscation of any firearm, air gun, archery
equipment, knife, ammunition, or firearm or air gun supplies or
accessories from an individual who is lawfully carrying or
possessing the firearm, air gun, archery equipment, knife,
ammunition, or firearm or air gun supplies or accessories.
SECTION 3. Section 229.001(e), Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (2-a) to read as follows:
(2-a) “Archery equipment” means a long bow, recurved
bow, compound bow, or crossbow. The term includes an arrow and a
component part or accessory of an arrow, bow, or crossbow.
SECTION 4. Section 235.042(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) To promote the public safety, the commissioners court of
a county by order may prohibit or otherwise regulate hunting with
bows and arrows on lots that are smaller than seven [10] acres [or
smaller] and are located in the unincorporated area of the county in
a subdivision.
SECTION 5. The heading to Chapter 236, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 236. COUNTY REGULATION OF FIREARMS, ARCHERY EQUIPMENT,
KNIVES, AMMUNITION, FIREARM SUPPLIES, AND SPORT SHOOTING RANGES
SECTION 6. Section 236.001, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
(3) “Archery equipment” has the meaning assigned by
Section 229.001.
SECTION 7. The heading to Section 236.002, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 236.002. FIREARMS; AIR GUNS; ARCHERY EQUIPMENT; SPORT
SHOOTING RANGE.
SECTION 8. Section 236.002(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, including Chapter 251,
Agriculture Code, a county may not adopt or enforce regulations
that:
(1) relate to:
(A) the transfer, possession, wearing, carrying,
ownership, storage, transportation, licensing, or registration of
firearms, air guns, archery equipment, knives, ammunition, or
firearm or air gun supplies or accessories;
(B) commerce in firearms, air guns, archery
equipment, knives, ammunition, or firearm or air gun supplies or
accessories; or
(C) the discharge of a firearm, [or] air gun, or
archery equipment at a sport shooting range; or
(2) require an owner of a firearm or archery equipment
to obtain liability insurance coverage for damages resulting from
negligent or wilful acts involving the use of the firearm or archery
equipment.
SECTION 9. Sections 342.003(a) and (b), Local Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The governing body of the municipality may:
(1) prohibit dangerous chimneys, flues, fireplaces,
stovepipes, ovens, and other apparatus used in or about any
building, and require the apparatus to be removed or placed in a
safe condition;
(2) prohibit the unsafe deposit of ashes;
(3) appoint officers who may enter any building or
enclosure to examine and determine whether it is in a dangerous
condition and, if the building or enclosure is in a dangerous
condition, require that it be put in a safe condition;
(4) require the inhabitant of a building to maintain
as many fire buckets and means of access to the roof as prescribed
by the governing body, and regulate the use of those items in the
event of a fire;
(5) require the owner or occupant of a building to
maintain access to the roof and to stairs or ladders that lead to
the roof;
(6) prohibit or otherwise regulate factories and other
works that pose a danger of promoting or causing fires;
(7) prohibit or otherwise regulate the erection of
cotton presses and sheds;
(8) prohibit or otherwise regulate the use of
fireworks [and firearms];
(9) prohibit, direct, or otherwise regulate the
keeping and management of buildings within the municipality that
are used to store gunpowder or other combustible, explosive, or
dangerous materials, and regulate the keeping and conveying of
those materials;
(10) regulate the building of parapet or party walls;
(11) authorize the mayor or other municipal officers,
including the officers of fire companies, to keep away from the
vicinity of any fire all idle, disorderly, or suspicious persons,
and to arrest and confine those persons;
(12) compel municipal officers and all other persons
to aid in extinguishing fires, preserving property exposed to the
danger of fire, and preventing theft; and
(13) adopt other rules for the prevention and
extinguishment of fires as the governing body considers necessary.
(b) Subsection (a)(9) [(a)(8) or (9)] does not authorize a
municipality to adopt any prohibition or other regulation in
violation of Section 229.001.
SECTION 10. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
ordinance, order, regulation, or other measure adopted before, on,
or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect immediately 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, 2025.
