84R432 SCL-F
	By: Kleinschmidt	H.B. No. 176

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to protection of the right to keep and bear arms within the
	State of Texas.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  This Act shall be known as the Second Amendment
	Preservation Act.
	SECTION 2.  The legislature finds and declares the
	following:
	(1)  The legislature is firmly resolved to support and
	defend the United States Constitution against every aggression,
	either foreign or domestic, and oppose every infraction of the
	principles that constitute the basis of the union of the states
	because only a faithful observance of those principles can secure
	the nation's existence and the public's happiness.
	(2)  Acting through the United States Constitution, the
	people of the several states created the federal government to be
	the people's agent in the exercise of a few defined powers, while
	reserving to the state governments the power to legislate on
	matters that concern the lives, liberties, and properties of
	citizens in the ordinary course of affairs.
	(3)  The limitation of the federal government's power
	is affirmed under the Tenth Amendment to the United States
	Constitution, which defines the total scope of federal power as
	being that which has been delegated by the people to the federal
	government, and all power not delegated to the federal government
	in the United States Constitution is reserved to the states or to
	the people.
	(4)  If the federal government assumes powers that the
	people did not grant to the federal government in the United States
	Constitution, the federal government's acts are unauthoritative,
	void, and of no force.
	(5)  The several states respect the proper role of the
	federal government, but reject the proposition that such respect
	requires unlimited submission. If the federal government, created
	by compact among the states, was the exclusive or final judge of the
	extent of the powers granted to the federal government by the states
	through the constitution, the federal government's discretion, and
	not the constitution, would necessarily become the measure of those
	powers. To the contrary, as in all other cases of compacts among
	powers having no common judge, each party has an equal right to
	judge whether infractions of the compact have occurred, as well as
	to determine the mode and measure of redress. Although the states
	have granted supremacy to laws and treaties made pursuant to the
	powers granted in the constitution, that supremacy does not extend
	to various federal statutes, executive orders, administrative
	orders, court orders, rules, regulations, and other actions that
	restrict or prohibit the manufacture, ownership, and use of
	firearms, firearm accessories, or firearm ammunition exclusively
	within the borders of Texas. Such federal actions exceed the powers
	granted to the federal government except to the extent that they are
	necessary and proper for governing the United States armed forces
	or militia forces actively employed in the service of the armed
	forces.
	(6)  The people of the several states have, in Article
	I, Section 8, of the United States Constitution, given Congress the
	power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the
	several States," but "regulating commerce" does not include the
	power to limit citizens' right to keep and bear arms in defense of
	the citizens' families, neighbors, persons, or property, or to
	dictate as to what type of arms and accessories law-abiding,
	mentally competent Texans may buy, sell, exchange, or otherwise
	possess within the borders of this state.
	(7)  The people of the several states have, in Article
	I, Section 8, of the United States Constitution, also granted
	Congress the power to "lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and
	Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and
	general Welfare of the United States" and to "make all Laws which
	shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the . . .
	Powers vested by [the] Constitution in the Government of the United
	States, or in any Department or Officer thereof." These
	constitutional provisions merely identify the means by which the
	federal government may execute the federal government's limited
	powers and ought not to be construed to grant unlimited powers
	because to do so would destroy the carefully constructed
	equilibrium between the federal and state governments.
	Consequently, the legislature rejects any claim that the taxing and
	spending powers of Congress can be used to diminish in any way the
	right of the people to keep and bear arms.
	(8)  The people of Texas have vested the legislature
	with the authority to regulate the manufacture, possession,
	exchange, and use of firearms within the borders of this state,
	subject only to the limits imposed by the Second Amendment to the
	United States Constitution and Section 23, Article I, Texas
	Constitution.
	(9)  The legislature strongly encourages responsible
	gun ownership, including parental supervision of minors in the
	proper use, storage, and ownership of all firearms, the prompt
	reporting of stolen firearms, and the proper enforcement of all
	state gun laws. The legislature condemns any unlawful transfer of
	firearms and the use of any firearm in any unlawful activity.
	SECTION 3.  Title 5, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
	amended by adding Chapter 115 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 115. PROTECTION OF RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
	Sec. 115.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
	(1)  "Government agency" means:
	(A)  this state or a municipality or other
	political subdivision of this state; and
	(B)  any agency of this state or a municipality or
	other political subdivision of this state, including a department,
	bureau, board, commission, office, agency, council, or public
	institution of higher education.
	(2)  "Law-abiding citizen" means an individual who:
	(A)  is legally present in this state; and
	(B)  may, under the laws of this state, possess a
	firearm.
	(3)  "Right to keep and bear arms" means the right
	guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States
	Constitution and Section 23, Article I, Texas Constitution.
	Sec. 115.002.  CERTAIN FEDERAL LAW REGULATING FIREARMS
	INVALID. A federal law, including a statute, an executive,
	administrative, or court order, or a rule, that infringes on a
	law-abiding citizen's right to keep and bear arms under the Second
	Amendment to the United States Constitution or Section 23, Article
	I, Texas Constitution, is invalid and not enforceable in this
	state. A federal law that infringes on a law-abiding citizen's
	right to keep and bear arms includes a law that:
	(1)  imposes a tax, fee, or stamp on a firearm, firearm
	accessory, or firearm ammunition that is not common to all other
	goods and services and may be reasonably expected to create a
	chilling effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by a
	law-abiding citizen;
	(2)  requires the registration or tracking of a
	firearm, firearm accessory, or firearm ammunition or the owners of
	those items that may be reasonably expected to create a chilling
	effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by a law-abiding
	citizen;
	(3)  prohibits the possession, ownership, use, or
	transfer of a firearm, firearm accessory, or firearm ammunition by
	a law-abiding citizen; and
	(4)  orders the confiscation of a firearm, firearm
	accessory, or firearm ammunition from a law-abiding citizen.
	Sec. 115.003.  DUTIES OF COURTS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
	AGENCIES; ENFORCEMENT BY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, OFFICIALS, AND
	AGENCIES PROHIBITED. (a) Each state court and law enforcement
	agency of this state shall protect a law-abiding citizen's right to
	keep and bear arms.
	(b)  A government agency or an employee or an official of a
	government agency may not enforce a federal law described by
	Section 115.002.
	Sec. 115.004.  REMEDIES. (a) A person who knowingly
	violates Section 115.003(b) is liable under this section to a
	law-abiding citizen whose right to keep and bear arms was infringed
	by the person.
	(b)  A law-abiding citizen described by Subsection (a) may
	recover:
	(1)  declaratory relief under Chapter 37;
	(2)  injunctive relief to prevent the threatened
	violation or continued violation;
	(3)  compensatory damages for pecuniary and
	nonpecuniary losses; and
	(4)  reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other
	reasonable expenses required in bringing the action.
	Sec. 115.005.  NOTICE; RIGHT TO ACCOMMODATE. (a) A claimant
	may not bring an action to assert a claim under this chapter unless,
	60 days before bringing the action, the claimant gives to the person
	who violated Section 115.003(b), by certified mail, return receipt
	requested, written notice:
	(1)  that the person has taken or proposes to take an
	enforcement action infringing on the claimant's right to keep and
	bear arms; and
	(2)  of the particular enforcement action giving rise
	to the infringement.
	(b)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a claimant may, within
	the 60-day period established by Subsection (a), bring an action
	for declaratory or injunctive relief and associated attorney's
	fees, court costs, and other reasonable expenses, if:
	(1)  infringement on the claimant's right to keep and
	bear arms is imminent; and
	(2)  the claimant was not informed and did not
	otherwise have knowledge of the enforcement action in time to
	reasonably provide the notice.
	(c)  A person who receives a notice under Subsection (a) may
	cure the infringement on the claimant's right to keep and bear arms.
	(d)  A claimant with respect to whom an infringement on the
	claimant's right to keep and bear arms has been cured may not bring
	an action under Section 115.004.
	Sec. 115.006.  ONE-YEAR LIMITATIONS PERIOD. (a) A claimant
	must bring an action to assert a claim for damages under this
	chapter not later than one year after the date the claimant knew or
	should have known of the infringement on the claimant's right to
	keep and bear arms.
	(b)  Mailing notice under Section 115.005 tolls the
	limitations period established under this section until the 75th
	day after the date on which the notice was mailed.
	Sec. 115.007.  SOVEREIGN AND GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY WAIVED;
	NO OFFICIAL IMMUNITY. (a) Sovereign and governmental immunity to
	suit and from liability is waived and abolished to the extent of
	liability created by Section 115.004, and a claimant may sue a
	government agency for damages allowed by that section.
	(b)  The affirmative defense of official immunity is not
	available to an employee or official sued under Section 115.004.
	(c)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), this chapter does not
	waive or abolish sovereign immunity to suit and from liability
	under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.
	SECTION 4.  This Act applies only to an infringement on the
	right to keep and bear arms that occurs on or after the effective
	date of this Act.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.