Texas Senator Zaffirini filed Senate Bill 80 on November 9, proposing criminal penalties for people younger than 21 who knowingly purchase or possess firearms within a new statutory definition of “assault weapon.” The legislative history lists filing as the latest action. This is an introduced proposal, not a passed law, and its age limit is essential to understanding its scope: the purchase and possession offense would not apply to every adult owner.

The introduced text would add Penal Code section 46.055 and make the new purchase or possession offense a Class A misdemeanor. It separately rewrites part of section 46.06 to restrict transfers to people younger than 21. Those are different offenses aimed at different participants in a transaction, with different penalties and defenses. A description of the bill as simply a ban on semiautomatic firearms misses both the age restriction and the configuration-based definition.

Which configurations the proposal covers

For semiautomatic centerfire rifles with detachable-magazine capability, one listed feature would be enough. The list includes a conspicuously protruding pistol grip, folding or telescoping stock, thumbhole stock, second handgrip, flash suppressor, or grenade or flare launcher. Separate provisions cover semiautomatic centerfire rifles with fixed magazines holding more than ten rounds and those shorter than 30 inches overall. Those two routes into the definition do not depend on the detachable-magazine feature test.