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TexasJohnBoy wrote:And not having them registered under the NFA is a federal crime currently, so this is reinforcing federal law.

It's "reinforced" through a TX statute that creates a TX criminal offense for which one would be arrested by a TX LEO and tried in a TX court.

Bills like SB93 and HB131 are a joke all the while this TX statute exists. HB131 would create a new statute that claims firearms and suppressors wholly made within TX are not subject to federal laws, while leaving in place the existing TX statute that creates a criminal offense for not complying with federal law.

I guess that's still regulated in a general sense, but when I hear regulated I think more along the lines of a registry and being permitted to purchase it

It's regulated in a technical sense, general sense and any other sense. Regulated does not imply nor require a registry, although I suspect Bloomberg gets all excited when he reads the 2nd Amendment and sees the "well-regulated" part (which of course doesn't mean regulated as in laws, but as in "a well-regulated clock", as explained in Heller).

HB1819 just passed the Senate and is off to the Governor's desk. This is the bill with a preemptive fix for suppressor possession/manufacture/etc in case the federal Hearing Protection Act passes.
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup ... ill=HB1819

While a decent bill, a better bill would have been to completely deregulate suppressors under state law like they just did in Tennessee. Or if that's a bridge too far for Texas Republicans, simply prohibit suppressor possession for anyone prohibited from possessing firearms.

Article: Signed by the Governor: Tennessee Decriminalizes Firearm “Silencers”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 10, 2017) – Yesterday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed a bill into law decriminalizing the manufacture and possession of firearm suppressors in the state. The new law not only removes a layer of state regulation, it will help foster an environment hostile to federal gun control in Tennessee.

From TSRA:

On Tuesday, May 2, House Bill 300, TSRA-backed legislation sponsored by Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) that significantly reduces the cost of a License to Carry (LTC), is scheduled to be considered by the full Texas House of Representatives.

The identical Senate companion bill SB 16 is over and eligible for consideration in the House, so it will be substituted in for HB 300 on the House floor. This means that if the House approves the measure with no amendments, it will head to Governor Greg Abbott for his expected signature!

Let's get this done - please contact your State Representatives on Monday or Tuesday morning and urge them to "Support HB 300/SB 16 with no amendments" Add this language to your subject line.

HB300 (house version of SB16) has been placed on the House floor calendar for 05/02/2017.
SB16 is in House Calendars Committee and has not been scheduled for the floor.

Am I correct in assuming that this means they're not going to schedule SB16 and instead try to force the Senate to pass HB300 instead? (so the House can take credit). That would be a pretty bold move, given that SB16 is one of the Lt. Governor's priority bills.

TexasJohnBoy wrote:If HB1911 passes, then I bet your 25% number is a lot lower...

True, but it's still going to be an increase, albeit a modest one.

On this subject, btw, the fiscal impact analysis for HB1911 is completely ludicrous:

This analysis assumes that the number of original and renewal LTC applications would decline by 90 percent beginning in fiscal year 2018.

The Comptroller of Public Accounts estimates a revenue loss of $22.0 million in fiscal year 2018 and $16.5 million in fiscal year 2019 to General Revenue Fund 01.

This is contrary to the experiences of other states that have passed permitless carry (they've seen an increase in people getting permits) and I believe Alice and/or Tara mentioned this in their testimony on HB1911.

It's guaranteed that Democrats will be using this fiscal note for everything it's worth ("the unbiased fiscal analysis says the state is going to lose millions of dollars!"). Just like they did last session, with the ludicrous claim that Campus Carry was going to cost $47 million.

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup ... &Bill=SB16

SB16 passed out of the House Homeland Security & Public Safety Committee today.

Next steps: House Calendars Committee, House floor vote and (assuming no changes are made): the governor's desk.

It's unfortunate that this bill doesn't completely eliminate the fee (like the originally filed version of the bill did), but a reduction from $140 to $40 is still a huge improvement. I wouldn't be surprised if by next session the number of active licenses has increased by 25%. That means more people with an incentive to lobby the legislature to eliminate gun free zones.