By Coleman H.B. No. 3529
76R6429(1) PEP
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the eligibility of a licensed private investigator for
1-3 a license to carry a concealed handgun.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 411.200, Government Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 411.200. [APPLICATION TO] LICENSED PRIVATE
1-8 INVESTIGATORS OR SECURITY OFFICERS. (a) Notwithstanding any other
1-9 provision of this subchapter, the department shall issue a license
1-10 under this subchapter to a private investigator who meets the
1-11 requirements of this section.
1-12 (b) A private investigator licensed under the Private
1-13 Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act (Article
1-14 4413(29bb), Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is eligible for a
1-15 license to carry a concealed handgun under the authority of this
1-16 subchapter if the investigator:
1-17 (1) is a graduate of an approved state or federal law
1-18 enforcement academy or school;
1-19 (2) is not the subject of any formal complaint
1-20 relating to the use of a firearm, unless the complaint is
1-21 subsequently dismissed; and
1-22 (3) either:
1-23 (A) served as a full-time law enforcement
1-24 officer for not less than two years; or
1-25 (B) served on active duty in the United States
1-26 armed forces and received an honorable discharge, has been a
2-1 licensed private investigator in this state for not less than three
2-2 years, and satisfies the handgun proficiency requirements of
2-3 Section 411.188.
2-4 (c) An applicant for a license who is a licensed private
2-5 investigator must submit to the department:
2-6 (1) a completed application on a form prescribed by
2-7 the department;
2-8 (2) a handgun proficiency certificate issued to the
2-9 applicant as evidence that the applicant successfully completed the
2-10 proficiency requirements of this subchapter, if evidence of that
2-11 proficiency is required by Subsection (b)(3)(B); and
2-12 (3) a nonrefundable application and license fee set by
2-13 the department in an amount reasonably designed to cover the
2-14 administrative costs associated with issuance of a license to carry
2-15 a concealed handgun under this subchapter.
2-16 (d) On receipt of all the application materials required by
2-17 this section, the department shall conduct an appropriate
2-18 background check to determine whether the applicant meets the
2-19 requirements of this section and, if the applicant meets those
2-20 requirements, issue a license to carry a concealed handgun under
2-21 the authority of this subchapter.
2-22 (e) A license issued under this section expires as provided
2-23 by Section 411.183 and may be renewed in accordance with Section
2-24 411.185 of this subchapter.
2-25 (f) This subchapter does not exempt a license holder who is
2-26 [also] employed as a private investigator or a security officer and
2-27 is licensed under the Private Investigators and Private Security
3-1 Agencies Act (Article 4413(29bb), Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)
3-2 from the duty to comply with that Act or with Section 46.02, Penal
3-3 Code.
3-4 SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
3-5 to a person who applies for a license to carry a concealed handgun
3-6 under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, on or after the
3-7 effective date of this Act. A person who applies for a license to
3-8 carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
3-9 Government Code, before the effective date of this Act is covered
3-10 by the law that existed when the application was made, and the
3-11 former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-12 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
3-13 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.