Sec. 342.013. CONFISCATION OF CERTAIN FIREWORKS PROHIBITED; AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE. (a) A home-rule municipality that regulates fireworks may not confiscate packaged, unopened fireworks.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution for possession of fireworks brought under a municipal ordinance that:
(1) the defendant was operating or was a passenger in a motor vehicle that was being operated in a public place; and
(2) the fireworks were not in the passenger area of the vehicle.
(c) For purposes of Subsection (b), the "passenger area" of a motor vehicle means the area of the vehicle designed for the seating of the operator and the passengers of the vehicle. The term does not include:
(1) a locked glove compartment or similar locked storage area;
(2) the trunk of a vehicle; or
(3) the area behind the last upright seat of a vehicle that does not have a trunk.
Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 957 (H.B. 1813), Sec. 2, eff. June 14, 2013.
Last modified: September 28, 2016