2023 Texas Statutes
Health and Safety Code
Title 6 - Food, Drugs, Alcohol, and Hazardous Substances
Subtitle C - Substance Abuse Regulation and Crimes
Chapter 485 - Abusable Volatile Chemicals
Subchapter C. Criminal Penalties
Section 485.032. Delivery to a Minor
Sec. 485.032. DELIVERY TO A MINOR. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly delivers an abusable volatile chemical to a person who is younger than 18 years of age.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) the abusable volatile chemical that was delivered contains additive material that effectively discourages intentional abuse by inhalation; or
(2) the person making the delivery is not the manufacturer of the chemical and the manufacturer of the chemical failed to label the chemical with the statement of principal hazard on the principal display panel "VAPOR HARMFUL" or other labeling requirement subsequently established under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. Section 1261 et seq.), as amended, or regulations subsequently adopted under that Act.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under 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 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.
(d) Except as provided by Subsections (e) and (f), an offense under this section is a state jail felony.
(e) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial of the defendant that at the time of the delivery the defendant or the defendant's employer held a volatile chemical sales permit for the location of the sale.
(f) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial of the defendant that at the time of the delivery the defendant or the defendant's employer:
(1) did not hold a volatile chemical sales permit but did hold a sales tax permit for the location of the sale; and
(2) had not been convicted previously under this section for an offense committed after January 1, 1988.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 2.06, eff. Sept. 1, 1994. Renumbered from Health & Safety Code Sec. 485.033 and amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1463, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.