| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the carrying or possession of a handgun by peace |
|
|
officers, special investigators, certain retired law enforcement |
|
|
officers, municipal attorneys, and assistant municipal attorneys |
|
|
and the issuance of handgun licenses to municipal attorneys and |
|
|
assistant municipal attorneys. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 411.1882(a), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) A person who is serving in this state as the attorney |
|
|
general or as a judge or justice of a federal court, as an active |
|
|
judicial officer as defined by Section 411.201, as a United States |
|
|
attorney, assistant United States attorney, assistant attorney |
|
|
general, district attorney, assistant district attorney, criminal |
|
|
district attorney, assistant criminal district attorney, county |
|
|
attorney, [or] assistant county attorney, municipal attorney, or |
|
|
assistant municipal attorney, as a supervision officer as defined |
|
|
by Article 42A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, or as a juvenile |
|
|
probation officer may establish handgun proficiency for the |
|
|
purposes of this subchapter by obtaining from a handgun proficiency |
|
|
instructor approved by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement for |
|
|
purposes of Section 1702.1675, Occupations Code, a sworn statement |
|
|
that indicates that the person, during the 12-month period |
|
|
preceding the date of the person's application to the department, |
|
|
demonstrated to the instructor proficiency in the use of handguns. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 46.15, Penal Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (m) to read as |
|
|
follows: |
|
|
(a) Sections 46.02 and 46.03 do not apply to: |
|
|
(1) peace officers or special investigators under |
|
|
Article 2.122, Code of Criminal Procedure, and neither section |
|
|
prohibits a peace officer or special investigator from carrying a |
|
|
weapon in this state, including in an establishment in this state |
|
|
serving the public, regardless of whether the peace officer or |
|
|
special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the |
|
|
officer's or investigator's duties while carrying the weapon; |
|
|
(2) parole officers, and neither section prohibits an |
|
|
officer from carrying a weapon in this state if the officer is: |
|
|
(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the |
|
|
officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and |
|
|
(B) in compliance with policies and procedures |
|
|
adopted by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice regarding the |
|
|
possession of a weapon by an officer while on duty; |
|
|
(3) community supervision and corrections department |
|
|
officers appointed or employed under Section 76.004, Government |
|
|
Code, and neither section prohibits an officer from carrying a |
|
|
weapon in this state if the officer is: |
|
|
(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the |
|
|
officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and |
|
|
(B) authorized to carry a weapon under Section |
|
|
76.0051, Government Code; |
|
|
(4) an active judicial officer as defined by Section |
|
|
411.201, Government Code, who is licensed to carry a handgun under |
|
|
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code; |
|
|
(5) an honorably retired peace officer or other |
|
|
qualified retired law enforcement officer, as defined by 18 U.S.C. |
|
|
Section 926C, who holds a certificate of proficiency issued under |
|
|
Section 1701.357, Occupations Code, and is carrying a photo |
|
|
identification that is issued by a federal, state, or local law |
|
|
enforcement agency, as applicable, and that verifies that the |
|
|
officer is an honorably retired peace officer or other qualified |
|
|
retired law enforcement officer; |
|
|
(6) the attorney general or a United States attorney, |
|
|
district attorney, criminal district attorney, county attorney, or |
|
|
municipal attorney who is licensed to carry a handgun under |
|
|
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code; |
|
|
(7) an assistant United States attorney, assistant |
|
|
attorney general, assistant district attorney, assistant criminal |
|
|
district attorney, [or] assistant county attorney, or assistant |
|
|
municipal attorney who is licensed to carry a handgun under |
|
|
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code; |
|
|
(8) a bailiff designated by an active judicial officer |
|
|
as defined by Section 411.201, Government Code, who is: |
|
|
(A) licensed to carry a handgun under Subchapter |
|
|
H, Chapter 411, Government Code; and |
|
|
(B) engaged in escorting the judicial officer; |
|
|
(9) a juvenile probation officer who is authorized to |
|
|
carry a firearm under Section 142.006, Human Resources Code; or |
|
|
(10) a person who is volunteer emergency services |
|
|
personnel if the person is: |
|
|
(A) carrying a handgun under the authority of |
|
|
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code; and |
|
|
(B) engaged in providing emergency services. |
|
|
(m) Section 46.035 does not apply to: |
|
|
(1) peace officers or special investigators under |
|
|
Article 2.122, Code of Criminal Procedure, and that section does |
|
|
not prohibit a peace officer or special investigator from carrying |
|
|
a handgun in this state, including in an establishment in this state |
|
|
serving the public, regardless of whether the peace officer or |
|
|
special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the |
|
|
officer's or investigator's duties while carrying the handgun; or |
|
|
(2) an honorably retired peace officer or other |
|
|
qualified retired law enforcement officer, as defined by 18 U.S.C. |
|
|
Section 926C, who holds a certificate of proficiency issued under |
|
|
Section 1701.357, Occupations Code, and is carrying a photo |
|
|
identification that is issued by a federal, state, or local law |
|
|
enforcement agency, as applicable, and that verifies that the |
|
|
officer is an honorably retired peace officer or other qualified |
|
|
retired law enforcement officer. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 411.1882(a), Government Code, as amended |
|
|
by this Act, applies only to an application for a license to carry a |
|
|
handgun submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
|
|
application submitted before the effective date of this Act is |
|
|
governed by the law in effect on the date the application was |
|
|
submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that |
|
|
purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Section 46.15, Penal Code, as amended by this |
|
|
Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective |
|
|
date of this Act. 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. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed |
|
|
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense |
|
|
occurred before that date. |
|
|
SECTION 5. Section 46.15(m), Penal Code, as added by this |
|
|
Act, is intended only to clarify existing law with respect to the |
|
|
locations in which peace officers, special investigators, and |
|
|
qualified retired law enforcement officers may carry a handgun. |
|
|
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |