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GOA Texas Bullet 4-12-2021

Suppressor Freedom Bill 

  • Our priority bill, HB 957 by Oliverson, receives a hearing in the House State Affairs Committee this Wednesday!
  • The bill repeals the Texas ban on owning suppressors that don’t have a Federal tax stamp and allows Texans to manufacture, sell, and own a “Made in Texas” suppressor that is not subject to Federal regulations.
  • Give public comments online now. Start with “I support this bill” then list 1-3 reasons.
  • You can also attend in person. Text Rachel at 512-937-3006 if you wish to testify. The hearing begins at 8 am and will take a break at 10 am for floor session. We do not know in what order bills will be heard.
  • See the hearing notice Read the bill See our handout | Submit online comments 

Update on GOA Priority Legislation 

  • Constitutional Carry: two bills (HB 1911 by White and HB 1927 by Schaefer) have been voted out of the House Homeland Security Committee. Over 60 Representatives have co-authored a Constitutional Carry bill. The Senate has not yet taken any action.
    See handout & action items 
  • Second Amendment Sanctuary: last Thursday, the Senate heard and voted out of committee SB 513 by Hall, one of the strongest 2A Sanctuary bills filed. The House has also voted a bill out of committee, HB 2622 by Holland. Neither chamber has moved a bill to the floor yet.
    See handout | See action item 
  • Repeal of Emergency Powers: Both chambers have heard and voted forward strong companion bills (HB 1500 by Hefner and SB 18 by Creighton). Neither chamber has moved a bill to the floor yet.
    See handout & action item

Session Snapshot 

  • The session ends on May 31 – exactly 7 weeks from today.
  • May 13 is the last day that House bills can be considered on the House floor for 2nd Reading.
  • Theoretically, May 10 is the last day that House committees can report House bills to the Calendars committee. In reality, if House bills are not heard in a House committee this week, they are most likely not going to make it to the House floor.
  • So far, the House has passed 117 bills and the Senate has passed 26 bills. No bill has passed both chambers yet.
  • See more statistics | See end-of-session deadlines

In Their Own Words 

Submit Online Comments to OPPOSE These Bills:  

Monday – Criminal Jurisprudence Committee (see hearing notice): 

  • OPPOSE: HB 347 by Geren would create a state jail felony for lying on the 4473 form when purchasing a firearm. Although we do not approve of lying or illegal purchases, we do not agree with Federal law requiring a 4473 form and we do not think the 4473 form accurately portrays Federal possession laws. State law shouldn’t help enforce a system we don’t want.
    Read the bill Submit online comments 

Thursday – Homeland Security Committee (see hearing notice): 

  • OPPOSE: HB 882 by Hinojosa would prohibit someone with a warrant out for his arrest from knowingly receiving a firearm if the warrant is from another state and for a Class B misdemeanor or higher-level offense. We oppose this because there are many non-violent Class B crimes that should not bar firearms possession.
    Read the bill | Submit online comments 
  • OPPOSE: HB 4259 by Morales Shaw would require the state to develop a brochure detailing information and “statistics” about suicide prevention and “firearm violence.” It would require DPS to post the info on its website, firearms dealers to give a brochure with the info to each gun buyer, and LTC instructors to include the information in each LTC class. While we support coming alongside and helping those who are hurting, we have seen government wildly misinterpret data with a bias toward gun control and we do not trust the government to properly present statistics.
    Read the bill Submit online comments