Senate committee hears testimony on bill to remove state ban on short‑barreled rifles

At a meeting of the Senate Committee on State Affairs, members heard testimony on Senate Bill 15‑96, a proposal to remove short‑barreled firearms from the list of prohibited weapons in the Texas Penal Code. The author, Senator Centra Hagenboo, introduced the measure and explained its intent.

The bill would delete short‑barreled rifles (SBRs) from state criminal prohibitions while leaving federal law unchanged, including the National Firearms Act’s registration and $200 tax stamp requirement. Senator Centra Hagenboo said the state prohibition is an anachronism dating to the 1934 National Firearms Act and that “short rifles are never a problem and continue not to be a problem.” He told the committee that a recent ATF classification of certain pistols with stabilizing braces as SBRs has the practical effect of criminalizing firearms for many Texans under…