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.