By Johnson H.B. No. 1268
74R4462 PEP-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to authorizing certain parole officers to carry weapons.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 46.02(b), Penal Code, is amended to read
1-5 as follows:
1-6 (b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
1-7 the actor was, at the time of the commission of the offense:
1-8 (1) in the actual discharge of his official duties as
1-9 a member of the armed forces or state military forces as defined by
1-10 Section 431.001, Government Code, or as a guard employed by a penal
1-11 institution;
1-12 (2) on his own premises or premises under his control
1-13 unless he is an employee or agent of the owner of the premises and
1-14 his primary responsibility is to act in the capacity of a security
1-15 guard to protect persons or property, in which event he must comply
1-16 with Subdivision (5);
1-17 (3) traveling;
1-18 (4) engaging in lawful hunting, fishing, or other
1-19 sporting activity on the immediate premises where the activity is
1-20 conducted, or was directly en route between the premises and the
1-21 actor's residence, if the weapon is a type commonly used in the
1-22 activity;
1-23 (5) a person who holds a security officer commission
1-24 issued by the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private
2-1 Security Agencies, if:
2-2 (A) he is engaged in the performance of his
2-3 duties as a security officer or traveling to and from his place of
2-4 assignment;
2-5 (B) he is wearing a distinctive uniform; and
2-6 (C) the weapon is in plain view; <or>
2-7 (6) a peace officer, other than a person commissioned
2-8 by the Texas State Board of Pharmacy; or
2-9 (7) a parole officer who:
2-10 (A) is employed by the pardons and paroles
2-11 division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice under Article
2-12 42.18, Code of Criminal Procedure;
2-13 (B) is authorized to carry a weapon by the
2-14 director of the pardons and paroles division; and
2-15 (C) possesses a certificate of firearms
2-16 proficiency issued by the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
2-17 Standards and Education under Section 415.038, Government Code.
2-18 SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 415, Government Code, is
2-19 amended by adding Section 415.038 to read as follows:
2-20 Sec. 415.038. FIREARMS PROFICIENCY; PAROLE OFFICERS. (a)
2-21 The commission and the pardons and paroles division of the Texas
2-22 Department of Criminal Justice shall adopt a memorandum of
2-23 understanding that establishes their respective responsibilities in
2-24 developing a basic training program in the use of firearms by
2-25 parole officers. The memorandum of understanding must establish a
2-26 program that provides instruction in:
2-27 (1) legal limitations on the use of firearms and on
3-1 the powers and authority of parole officers;
3-2 (2) range firing and procedure and firearms safety and
3-3 maintenance; and
3-4 (3) other topics determined by the commission and the
3-5 division to be necessary for the responsible use of firearms by
3-6 parole officers.
3-7 (b) The commission and the division by rule shall adopt the
3-8 memorandum of understanding establishing the basic training
3-9 program.
3-10 (c) The training program may be conducted at a facility
3-11 operated by the commission or at a school certified by the
3-12 commission under Section 415.031. The commission or the school
3-13 conducting the program shall issue a certificate of firearms
3-14 proficiency to each parole officer who the entity conducting the
3-15 program determines has successfully completed the program described
3-16 by Subsection (a).
3-17 (d) A person attending a training program described by this
3-18 section shall pay a fee that the commission determines is
3-19 reasonable and necessary to the entity conducting the training
3-20 program.
3-21 SECTION 3. The Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
3-22 Standards and Education and the pardons and paroles division of the
3-23 Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall adopt the memorandum of
3-24 understanding required by this Act not later than January 1, 1996.
3-25 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-26 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-27 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-3 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-4 passage, and it is so enacted.