79R1896 EMT-D

By:  Hupp                                                         H.B. No. 322



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to concealed handgun licenses for members and veterans of 
the United States armed forces.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 411.172, Government Code, is amended by 
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (g) to read as 
follows:
	(a)  A person is eligible for a license to carry a concealed 
handgun if the person:
		(1)  is a legal resident of this state for the six-month 
period preceding the date of application under this subchapter or 
is otherwise eligible for a license under Section 411.173(a);
		(2)  is at least 21 years of age;                                             
		(3)  has not been convicted of a felony;                                      
		(4)  is not charged with the commission of a Class A or 
Class B misdemeanor or an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code, 
or of a felony under an information or indictment;
		(5)  is not a fugitive from justice for a felony or a 
Class A or Class B misdemeanor;
		(6)  is not a chemically dependent person;                                    
		(7)  is not incapable of exercising sound judgment with 
respect to the proper use and storage of a handgun;
		(8)  has not, in the five years preceding the date of 
application, been convicted of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or 
an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code;
		(9)  is fully qualified under applicable federal and 
state law to purchase a handgun;
		(10)  has not been finally determined to be delinquent 
in making a child support payment administered or collected by the 
attorney general;
		(11)  has not been finally determined to be delinquent 
in the payment of a tax or other money collected by the comptroller, 
the tax collector of a political subdivision of the state, or any 
agency or subdivision of the state;
		(12)  has not been finally determined to be in default 
on a loan made under Chapter 57, Education Code;
		(13)  is not currently restricted under a court 
protective order or subject to a restraining order affecting the 
spousal relationship, other than a restraining order solely 
affecting property interests;
		(14)  has not, in the 10 years preceding the date of 
application, been adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent 
conduct violating a penal law of the grade of felony;  and
		(15)  has not made any material misrepresentation, or 
failed to disclose any material fact, in an application submitted 
pursuant to Section 411.174 or in a request for application 
submitted pursuant to Section 411.175.
	(g)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), a person who is at 
least 18 years of age but not yet 21 years of age is eligible for a 
license to carry a concealed handgun if the person:
		(1)  is a member or veteran of the United States armed 
forces, including a member or veteran of the reserves or national 
guard; and
		(2)  meets the other eligibility requirements of 
Subsection (a).     
	SECTION 2.  Section 411.183, Government Code, is amended by 
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
	(f)  If the expiration date for an original, duplicate, 
modified, or renewed license of a member of the United States armed 
forces occurs while the license holder is serving outside the 
United States, the license does not expire on that date but remains 
valid until the first anniversary of that date.  A license holder 
may not receive consecutive extensions for the license under this 
subsection.  For purposes of this subsection, "United States armed 
forces" includes the reserves and national guard.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is 
amended by adding Section 411.1951 to read as follows:
	Sec. 411.1951.  REDUCTION OF FEES FOR MEMBERS OR VETERANS OF 
UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. Notwithstanding any other provision of 
this subchapter, the department shall reduce by 50 percent any fee 
required for the issuance of an original, duplicate, modified, or 
renewed license under this subchapter if the applicant for the 
license is a member or veteran of the United States armed forces, 
including a member or veteran of the reserves or national guard.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.