85R8503 JSC-D
	By: Phelan	H.B. No. 2772

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to requirements for peace officers to obtain an original,
	duplicate, modified, or renewed license to carry a handgun; waiving
	a fee.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 411.175, Government Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 411.175.  PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING FINGERPRINTS.  The
	department shall establish procedures for the submission of legible
	and classifiable fingerprints by an applicant for a license under
	this subchapter who:
	(1)  is required to submit those fingerprints to the
	department, including an applicant under Section 411.199[,
	411.1991,] or 411.201; and
	(2)  resides in a county having a population of 46,000
	or less and does not reside within a 25-mile radius of a facility
	with the capability to process digital or electronic fingerprints.
	SECTION 2.  Section 411.1881(a), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter,
	a person may not be required to complete the range instruction
	portion of a handgun proficiency course to obtain a license issued
	under this subchapter if the person is licensed as a peace officer
	under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, and currently employed as a
	peace officer by a law enforcement agency or:
	(1)  is currently serving in or is honorably discharged
	from:
	(A)  the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or
	marine corps of the United States or an auxiliary service or reserve
	unit of one of those branches of the armed forces; or
	(B)  the Texas military forces, as defined by
	Section 437.001; and
	(2)  has, within the five years preceding the date of
	the person's application for the license, completed a course of
	training in handgun proficiency or familiarization as part of the
	person's service with the armed forces or Texas military forces.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
	amended by amending Section 411.1991 and adding Section 411.1993 to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 411.1991.  PEACE OFFICERS. (a)  A person who is
	licensed as a peace officer under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code,
	and employed as a peace officer by a law enforcement agency[, or who
	is a member of the Texas military forces, excluding Texas State
	Guard members who are serving in the Texas Legislature,] may apply
	for a license under this subchapter.
	(b) [(a-1)]  An applicant who is a peace officer shall submit
	to the department:
	(1)  the name and rank of the applicant; and
	(2)  a current copy of the applicant's peace officer
	license and evidence of employment as a peace officer.
	(c)  The department may issue a license under this subchapter
	to an applicant under this section only if the applicant complies
	with Subsection (b).
	(d)  The department shall waive any fee required for the
	issuance of an original, duplicate, modified, or renewed license
	under this subchapter for an applicant under this section.
	(e)  A license issued to an applicant under this section
	expires as provided by Section 411.183.
	Sec. 411.1993.  CERTAIN MEMBERS OF TEXAS MILITARY FORCES.
	(a)  A person who is a member of the Texas military forces, other
	than a member of the Texas State Guard who is serving in the Texas
	Legislature, may apply for a license under this subchapter.
	(b) [(a-2)]  The department shall adopt rules regarding the
	information required to be included in an application submitted by
	a member of the Texas military forces under this section.
	(c) [(b)]  The department may issue a license under this
	subchapter to an applicant under this section only if the applicant
	complies with the [Subsection (a-1) or] rules adopted under
	Subsection (b) [(a-2), as applicable].
	(d) [(c)]  An applicant under this section shall pay a fee of
	$25 for a license issued under this subchapter.
	(e) [(d)]  A license issued to an applicant under this
	section expires as provided by Section 411.183.
	SECTION 4.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
	to an application that is made to obtain an original, duplicate,
	modified, or renewed license to carry a handgun and submitted on or
	after the effective date of this Act. An application described by
	this section that is submitted before the effective date of this Act
	is governed by the law in effect when the application was submitted,
	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.