1-1     By:  West                                             S.B. No. 1001

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 6, 1997; March 11, 1997, read

 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;

 1-4     April 3, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,

 1-5     Nays 0; April 3, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the offense of possessing a firearm, illegal knife,

 1-9     club, or prohibited weapon in a place where weapons are prohibited.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Section 46.03, Penal Code, is

1-12     amended to read as follows:

1-13           (a)  A person commits an offense if the person intentionally,

1-14     knowingly, or recklessly possesses[, with] a firearm, illegal

1-15     knife, club, or prohibited weapon listed in Section 46.05(a)[, he

1-16     intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly goes]:

1-17                 (1)  on the physical premises of a school or

1-18     educational institution, any grounds or building on which an

1-19     activity sponsored by a school or educational institution is being

1-20     conducted, or a passenger transportation vehicle of a school or

1-21     educational institution, whether the school or educational

1-22     institution is public or private, unless pursuant to written

1-23     regulations or written authorization of the institution;

1-24                 (2)  on the premises of a polling place on the day of

1-25     an election or while early voting is in progress;

1-26                 (3)  in any government court or offices utilized by the

1-27     court, unless pursuant to written regulations or written

1-28     authorization of the court;

1-29                 (4)  on the premises of a racetrack; or

1-30                 (5)  in [into] a secured area of an airport.

1-31           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

1-32     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this

1-33     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before

1-34     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs

1-35     before the effective date.

1-36           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-37     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-38     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-39           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-40           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-41     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-42     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-43     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-44     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

1-45                                  * * * * *