CS/HB 137 GAS-OPERATED SEMIAUTO FIREARMS EXCLUSION ACT

Rep Andrea Romero

Actions: [2] HCPAC/HJC-HCPAC [4] DP-HJC [6] DNP-CS/DP-T

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

 House Bill 137 (HB 137) enacts the Gas-Operated Semiautomatic Firearms Exclusion Act that prohibits gas-operated semiautomatic firearms. The bill also prohibits large-capacity ammunition feeding devices and devices that increase the rate of fire or approximate the action of a machine gun, and machine guns and machine gun attachments. It requires the certification of semiautomatic firearms.    

 House Bill 137 (HB 137) enacts the Gas-Operated Semiautomatic Firearms Exclusion Act (Act). A violation of the Act is a misdemeanor.  However, it is a fourth degree felony to commit, or attempt to commit a felony while in the possession of a gas-operated semiautomatic firearm or large-capacity ammunition feeding device.  

A “gas-operated” firearm harnesses or traps a portion of the high-pressure gas from a fired cartridge to cycle the action using various systems, and a “semiautomatic firearm” does not include a machine gun.  A “large capacity ammunition feeding device” is a not-permanently fixed device that can accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition and is not capable of operating only with .22 or less caliber rimfire ammunition. 

Starting January 1, 2025, the Act prohibits the importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, receipt or possession of the following: gas-operated semiautomatic firearms; modified non-prohibited firearms that as modified can operate as a prohibited firearm; parts that modify firearms into a prohibited firearm; parts that assemble into a firearm that operates as a prohibited firearm; or parts that function to produce a gas-operated semiautomatic cycling action. 

This prohibition of gas-operated semiautomatic firearms does not apply to: (1) actions under the authority of a federal or state government or Indian nation; (2) physical security systems under the Atomic Energy Act; (3) possession of gas-operated semiautomatic firearms that were lawful before 2025; (4) the transfer of a gas-operated semiautomatic firearm lawfully possessed before 2025 to an immediate family member; and (5) the transfer of a certified gas-operated semiautomatic firearm to a person residing in another state or to a licensed firearms dealer. 

The Act allows a person to certify their gas-operated semiautomatic firearm and possess it on certain private properties, on the premise of a licensed firearms dealer or gunsmith, at a licensed firing range or sport shooting competition venue, or while travelling to these locations and the firearm is unloaded and in a container.   

Beginning July 1, 2024, the Act will prohibit the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or receipt of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device or machine gun or machine gun attachment.  The possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device that is manufactured after July 1, 2024 will also be unlawful, and it is unlawful for a person who owns one of these devices before July 1, 2024 to transfer the device after this date.  The penalty regarding machine guns or machine gun attachments is a fourth degree felony.  

The prohibition on large-capacity ammunition feeding devices and machine guns does not apply to actions under the authority of a federal or state government or Indian nation, or physical security systems under the Atomic Energy Act.  It also does not apply to machine gun and machine gun attachments lawfully registered pursuant to the National Firearms Act.  
The attorney general must publish, no later than December 1, 2024, a list of gas-operated semiautomatic firearms that are to be subject to this Act. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) must require that firearms dealers have purchasers acknowledge the list before any sale of a firearm that is not prohibited under the list.  The bill provides a method for DPS to request that the attorney general remove a gas-operated semiautomatic firearm from the list.   The attorney general must also post on their website which large-capacity ammunition feeding device must be marked and the manner in which gas-operated semiautomatic firearms must be marked pursuant to the Act.  The bill further explains the procedure for the attorney general and DPS to develop a system for certifying gas-operated semiautomatic firearms. Certification information is confidential and not subject to public inspection, except to law enforcement agencies. 

A nonresident is allowed to transport, within 24 hours, a firearm or ammunition feeding device described in the Act so long as the firearm or parts are not readily accessible in the vehicle.  A nonresident who moves into the state must certify their gas-operated firearm or device within 60 days.  This does not apply to a firearm or ammunition feeding device described in the Act manufactured after July 1, 2024 that is certified within 60 days and is transferred to an immediate family member, a firearms dealer or gunsmith, or a person residing in another state. 
 

 The House Judiciary Committee Substitute for HB 137 (HJCcs/ HB 137) makes the following changes to the original bill:
•	Adds that an owner or manufacturer of a gas-operated semiautomatic firearm may appeal the attorney general’s determination to include a firearm on the list. This appeal must be done within 60 days of the firearm being listed. 
•	Moves up the date in which the attorney general must publish a list of firearms subject to the Act, from December 1, 2024 to July 1, 2024. 
•	Adds the requirement that by July 1, 2024, the attorney general must publish on its website the manner in which a magazine may be permanently fixed to a firearm.
•	Adds a definition for “firearm” to mean any weapon that is designed to expel a projectile by an explosion or the frame or receiver of any such weapon.
•	Moves up the starting date for the prohibition of gas-operated semiautomatic firearms from January 1, 2025 to July 1, 2024. 
•	Adds a provision that after January 1, 2025, if a person transfers a gas-operated semiautomatic firearm to a person residing in another state, the person transferring the firearm must first have it certified in accordance with the Act. 
•	Changes the definition of “immediate family member” to include a grandparent, grandchild, great-grandchild, niece, nephew, first cousin, aunt or uncle. It removes the provision that an immediate family member includes any other person living in the household of that person and related by blood or marriage. 
•	Adds that the prohibition of large-capacity ammunition feeding devices does not apply to the transfer of such a device to a person residing in another state or maintaining it in another state or to a licensed firearm dealer.
•	Adds that any licensed firearm importer and manufacturer must mark any large-capacity ammunition feeding device imported or manufactured after January 1, 2025. 
•	Adds that the prohibition of machine guns and machine gun attachments does not apply to those lawfully registered pursuant to the federal Firearms Owners’ Protection Act.
•	Moves up the date, from October 1, 2024 to September 1, 2024, for when the attorney general must make available a certification system of gas-operated semiautomatic firearms.
•	Adds that the certification must include an affirmation that the person possessed the semiautomatic firearm prior to January 1, 2025, received a timely certified firearm from an immediate family member or moved into the state in possession of the firearm within 60 days prior.
•	Adds a provision that once a gas-operated semiautomatic firearm is certified, the lawful owner may use and transfer it as allowed under the Act.