By Isett                                              H.B. No. 2826
         76R7297 GWK-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the prosecution of the offense of unlawfully carrying a
 1-3     handgun, illegal knife, or club.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 46.15(b), Penal Code, as amended by
 1-6     Chapters 1221 and 1261, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular
 1-7     Session, 1997, is amended to read as follows:
 1-8           (b)  It is an exception to the application of Section 46.02
 1-9     that the [does not apply to a] person [who]:
1-10                 (1)  is in the actual discharge of official duties as a
1-11     member of the armed forces or state military forces as defined by
1-12     Section 431.001, Government Code, or as a guard employed by a penal
1-13     institution;
1-14                 (2)  is on the person's own premises or premises under
1-15     the person's control unless the person is an employee or agent of
1-16     the owner of the premises and the person's primary responsibility
1-17     is to act in the capacity of a security guard to protect persons or
1-18     property, in which event the person must comply with Subdivision
1-19     (5);
1-20                 (3)  is traveling;
1-21                 (4)  is engaging in lawful hunting, fishing, or other
1-22     sporting activity on the immediate premises where the activity is
1-23     conducted, or is en route between the premises and the actor's
1-24     residence, if the weapon is a type commonly used in the activity;
 2-1                 (5)  holds a security officer commission issued by the
 2-2     Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies,
 2-3     if:
 2-4                       (A)  the person is engaged in the performance of
 2-5     the person's duties as a security officer or traveling to and from
 2-6     the person's place of assignment;
 2-7                       (B)  the person is wearing a distinctive uniform;
 2-8     and
 2-9                       (C)  the weapon is in plain view;
2-10                 (6)  is carrying a concealed handgun and a valid
2-11     license issued under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code
2-12     [Article 4413(29ee), Revised Statutes], to carry a concealed
2-13     handgun of the same category as the handgun the person is carrying;
2-14                 (7)  holds a security officer commission and a personal
2-15     protection authorization issued by the Texas Board of Private
2-16     Investigators and Private Security Agencies and who is providing
2-17     personal protection under the Private Investigators and Private
2-18     Security Agencies Act (Article 4413(29bb), Vernon's Texas Civil
2-19     Statutes); or
2-20                 (8)  holds an alcoholic beverage permit or license or
2-21     is an employee of a holder of an alcoholic beverage permit or
2-22     license if the person is supervising the operation of the permitted
2-23     or licensed premises.
2-24           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
2-25     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-26     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
2-27     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
 3-1     before the effective date.
 3-2           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
 3-3     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
 3-4     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
 3-5           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
 3-6           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
 3-7     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 3-8     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 3-9     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-10     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.