SB666 - Relating to the age at which a person may purchase or possess nitrous oxide.

      By: Hughes  S.B. No. 666          (In the Senate - Filed December 19, 2024; February 3, 2025,   read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;   March 5, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 11,   Nays 0; March 5, 2025, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote     A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT     relating to the age at which a person may purchase or possess   nitrous oxide.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 485.017, Health and Safety Code, is   amended to read as follows:          Sec. 485.017.  SIGNS.  A business establishment that sells   an abusable volatile chemical at retail shall display a conspicuous   sign, in English and Spanish, that states the following:                It is unlawful for a person to sell or deliver an   abusable volatile chemical to a person under 18 years of age.     Except in limited situations, such an offense is a state jail   felony.                 It is unlawful for a person to sell nitrous oxide to a   person under 21 years of age.   Except in limited situations, such an   offense is a state jail felony.                It is also unlawful for a person to abuse a volatile   chemical by inhaling, ingesting, applying, using, or possessing   with intent to inhale, ingest, apply, or use a volatile chemical in   a manner designed to affect the central nervous system.  Such an   offense is a Class B misdemeanor.          SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 485.032, Health and   Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:          Sec. 485.032.   PROHIBITED DELIVERY OR SALE [ TO A MINOR ].          SECTION 3.  Section 485.032, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections   (c-1) and (c-2) to read as follows:          (a)  A person commits an offense if the person knowingly :                 (1)   delivers an abusable volatile chemical other than   nitrous oxide to a person who is younger than 18 years of age ;                 (2)     delivers nitrous oxide to a person who is younger   than 18 years of age; or                 (3)     sells nitrous oxide to a person who is younger than   21 years of age .          (c)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under   Subsection (a)(1) or (2) [ this section ] that:                (1)  the person making the delivery is an adult having   supervisory responsibility over the person younger than 18 years of   age and:                      (A)  the adult permits the use of the abusable   volatile chemical only under the adult's direct supervision and in   the adult's presence and only for its intended purpose; and                      (B)  the adult removes the chemical from the   person younger than 18 years of age on completion of that use; or                (2)  the person to whom the abusable volatile chemical   was delivered presented to the actor [ defendant ] an apparently   valid Texas driver's license or an identification certificate,   issued by the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas and   containing a physical description consistent with the person's   appearance, that purported to establish that the person was 18   years of age or older.           (c-1)     It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under   Subsection (a)(2) or (3) that the person to whom the nitrous oxide   was sold or delivered was using the nitrous oxide in connection with   a lawful commercial purpose.           (c-2)     It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under   Subsection (a)(3) that the person to whom the nitrous oxide was sold   presented to the actor an apparently valid Texas driver's license   or an identification certificate, issued by the Department of   Public Safety of the State of Texas and containing a physical   description consistent with the person's appearance, that   purported to establish that the person was 21 years of age or older.          SECTION 4.  Section 485.035, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to   read as follows:          (a)  A person commits an offense if the person sells an   abusable volatile chemical , other than nitrous oxide, in violation   of Section 485.011 and the purchaser is 18 years of age or older.           (a-1)     A person commits an offense if the person sells   nitrous oxide in violation of Section 485.011 and the purchaser is   21 years of age or older.          SECTION 5.  (a)  The changes in law made by this Act to   Chapter 485, Health and Safety Code, apply only to an offense   committed on or after the effective date of this Act.  For purposes   of this subsection, an offense is committed before the effective   date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before that   date.          (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this   Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was   committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that   purpose.          SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.     * * * * *