74R11177 PEP-D
By Yarbrough, Carter, Allen, Oakley, et al. H.B. No. 243
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 243:
By Allen C.S.H.B. No. 243
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the issuance of a license for the carrying of certain
1-3 weapons by judges and justices.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 46.02, Penal Code, is amended by adding
1-6 Subsection (g) to read as follows:
1-7 (g) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
1-8 the actor, at the time of the commission of the offense, was
1-9 carrying a concealed handgun and a valid license to carry a
1-10 concealed handgun issued under Subchapter G, Chapter 411,
1-11 Government Code.
1-12 SECTION 2. Chapter 411, Government Code, is amended by
1-13 adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
1-14 SUBCHAPTER G. LICENSE TO CARRY A CONCEALED HANDGUN
1-15 FOR JUDICIAL OFFICERS
1-16 Sec. 411.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-17 (1) "Active judicial officer" means a person serving
1-18 as a judge or justice of the supreme court, the court of criminal
1-19 appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal district
1-20 court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county court, a
1-21 justice court, or a municipal court.
1-22 (2) "Chemically dependent person" means a person who
1-23 frequently or repeatedly becomes intoxicated by excessive
1-24 indulgence in alcohol or uses controlled substances or dangerous
2-1 drugs so as to acquire a fixed habit and an involuntary tendency to
2-2 become intoxicated or uses those substances as often as the
2-3 opportunity is presented.
2-4 (3) "Qualified handgun instructor" means a person who
2-5 is certified by the department as qualified to instruct others in
2-6 handgun use, proficiency, and safety.
2-7 (4) "Retired judicial officer" means:
2-8 (A) a special judge appointed under Section
2-9 26.023 or 26.024; or
2-10 (B) a senior judge designated under Section
2-11 75.001 or a judicial officer as designated or defined by Section
2-12 75.001, 831.001, or 836.001.
2-13 (5) "Unsound mind" means the mental condition of a
2-14 person who:
2-15 (A) has been adjudicated mentally incompetent,
2-16 mentally ill, or not guilty of a criminal offense by reason of
2-17 insanity; or
2-18 (B) has been diagnosed by a licensed physician
2-19 as being characterized by a mental disorder or infirmity that
2-20 renders the person incapable of managing the person's self or the
2-21 person's affairs, unless the person furnishes a certificate from a
2-22 licensed physician stating that the person is no longer disabled.
2-23 Sec. 411.202. ELIGIBILITY. (a) An active judicial officer
2-24 is eligible for a license to carry a concealed handgun under the
2-25 authority of this subchapter.
2-26 (b) A retired judicial officer is eligible for a license to
2-27 carry a concealed handgun under the authority of this subchapter if
3-1 the officer:
3-2 (1) has not been convicted of a felony;
3-3 (2) has not, in the five years preceding the date of
3-4 application, been convicted of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor;
3-5 (3) is not charged with the commission of a Class A or
3-6 Class B misdemeanor or of a felony under an information or
3-7 indictment;
3-8 (4) is not a chemically dependent person; and
3-9 (5) is not a person of unsound mind.
3-10 Sec. 411.203. APPLICATION. (a) An applicant for a license
3-11 under this subchapter must submit to the department:
3-12 (1) a completed application on a form prescribed by
3-13 the department;
3-14 (2) two recent color passport photographs of the
3-15 applicant;
3-16 (3) a handgun proficiency certificate issued to the
3-17 applicant as evidence that the applicant successfully completed the
3-18 proficiency requirements of this subchapter; and
3-19 (4) a nonrefundable application and license fee set by
3-20 the department in an amount reasonably designed to cover the
3-21 administrative costs associated with issuance of a license to carry
3-22 a concealed handgun under this subchapter.
3-23 (b) An applicant who is a retired judicial officer must
3-24 submit to the department, in addition to the items described by
3-25 Subsection (a):
3-26 (1) two complete sets of legible and classifiable
3-27 fingerprints of the applicant taken by a person employed by a law
4-1 enforcement agency who is appropriately trained in recording
4-2 fingerprints; and
4-3 (2) a form executed by the applicant that authorizes
4-4 the department to make an inquiry into any noncriminal history
4-5 records that are necessary to determine the applicant's eligibility
4-6 for a license under this subchapter.
4-7 Sec. 411.204. LICENSE. (a) The department shall issue a
4-8 license to carry a concealed handgun under this subchapter to an
4-9 active or retired judicial officer who satisfies all the applicable
4-10 eligibility requirements and submits all the application materials.
4-11 The department shall administer the licensing procedures in good
4-12 faith so that any applicant who meets all the eligibility
4-13 requirements and submits all the application materials shall
4-14 receive a license within a reasonable time.
4-15 (b) On receipt of an application for a license under this
4-16 subchapter submitted by a retired judicial officer, the department
4-17 shall conduct an appropriate background investigation to determine
4-18 the applicant's eligibility for the license.
4-19 (c) The department may not issue a license under this
4-20 subchapter to an applicant who fails to satisfy all the eligibility
4-21 requirements or fails to submit all the application materials.
4-22 Sec. 411.205. EXPIRATION, REVOCATION, AND RENEWAL. (a) An
4-23 original license issued under this subchapter expires on the first
4-24 birthday of the license holder occurring after the fourth
4-25 anniversary of the date of issuance.
4-26 (b) The department shall by rule establish the grounds for
4-27 revocation of a license issued under this subchapter. Chapter 2001
5-1 applies to the revocation of a license issued under this
5-2 subchapter.
5-3 (c) The department shall renew the license of a license
5-4 holder if the department receives no information indicating the
5-5 license holder is ineligible for a license under this subchapter
5-6 and the license holder:
5-7 (1) completes the handgun proficiency requirements of
5-8 this subchapter for a license renewal not more than six months
5-9 before the date of application for renewal; and
5-10 (2) submits to the department:
5-11 (A) a completed application for renewal on a
5-12 form provided by the department;
5-13 (B) a copy of the handgun proficiency
5-14 certificate;
5-15 (C) a nonrefundable renewal fee as set by the
5-16 department in an amount reasonably designed to cover the actual
5-17 cost to the department to renew a license; and
5-18 (D) two recent color passport photographs of the
5-19 applicant.
5-20 (d) A renewed license expires on the fourth anniversary of
5-21 the date of the expiration of the license being renewed.
5-22 Sec. 411.206. PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS. (a) The department
5-23 shall by rule establish minimum standards for handgun proficiency
5-24 and shall develop a course to teach handgun proficiency and
5-25 examinations to measure handgun proficiency. The course to teach
5-26 handgun proficiency must be administered by a qualified handgun
5-27 instructor and must contain training sessions divided into two
6-1 parts. One part of the course must be classroom instruction and
6-2 the other part must be range instruction and an actual
6-3 demonstration by the applicant of the applicant's ability to safely
6-4 and proficiently use a handgun.
6-5 (b) A handgun proficiency and safety course for an active
6-6 judicial officer must include instruction on:
6-7 (1) handgun use, proficiency, and safety; and
6-8 (2) proper storage practices for handguns with an
6-9 emphasis on storage practices that eliminate the possibility of
6-10 accidental injury to a child.
6-11 (c) A handgun proficiency and safety course for a retired
6-12 judicial officer must include at least 10 hours and not more than
6-13 15 hours of instruction on:
6-14 (1) the laws that relate to weapons and to the use of
6-15 deadly force;
6-16 (2) handgun use, proficiency, and safety;
6-17 (3) nonviolent dispute resolution; and
6-18 (4) proper storage practices for handguns with an
6-19 emphasis on storage practices that eliminate the possibility of
6-20 accidental injury to a child.
6-21 (d) The department by rule shall establish handgun
6-22 proficiency requirements for a license holder to renew a license
6-23 issued under this subchapter. Any determination that an applicant
6-24 satisfies the proficiency requirements for renewal must be made by
6-25 a qualified handgun instructor. The requirements for an active
6-26 judicial officer to renew a license must include an actual
6-27 demonstration of the applicant's handgun proficiency. The
7-1 requirements for a retired judicial officer to renew a license must
7-2 include at least four hours of classroom instruction on the topics
7-3 described in Subsection (c) and an actual demonstration of the
7-4 applicant's handgun proficiency.
7-5 SECTION 3. The Department of Public Safety shall adopt the
7-6 rules and develop the handgun proficiency and safety courses and
7-7 examinations required by this Act not later than January 1, 1996.
7-8 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
7-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
7-13 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
7-14 passage, and it is so enacted.