By:  Berman, Driver, Hupp, Keel,                                  H.B. No. 2110
 
    King of Parker, et al.                                                   


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the applicability of certain weapon laws to certain 
prosecutors and certain court employees.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 46.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding 
Subdivision (17) to read as follows:
		(17)  "Active judicial officer" has the meaning 
assigned by Section 411.201, Government Code.
	SECTION 2.  Section 46.15, Penal Code, is amended by 
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (i) to read as 
follows:
	(a)  Sections 46.02 and 46.03 do not apply to:                                 
		(1)  peace officers, including commissioned peace 
officers of a recognized state, or special investigators under 
Article 2.122, Code of Criminal Procedure, and neither section 
prohibits a peace officer or special investigator from carrying a 
weapon in this state, including in an establishment in this state 
serving the public, regardless of whether the peace officer or 
special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the 
officer's or investigator's duties while carrying the weapon;
		(2)  parole officers and neither section prohibits an 
officer from carrying a weapon in this state if the officer is:
			(A)  engaged in the actual discharge of the 
officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and
			(B)  in compliance with policies and procedures 
adopted by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice regarding the 
possession of a weapon by an officer while on duty;
		(3)  community supervision and corrections department 
officers appointed or employed under Section 76.004, Government 
Code, and neither section prohibits an officer from carrying a 
weapon in this state if the officer is:
			(A)  engaged in the actual discharge of the 
officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and
			(B)  authorized to carry a weapon under Section 
76.0051, Government Code;  
		(4)  a judge or justice of the supreme court, the court 
of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a 
criminal district court, a constitutional county court, a statutory 
county court, a justice court, or a municipal court who is licensed 
to carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, 
Government Code; [or]
		(5)  an honorably retired peace officer or federal 
criminal investigator who holds a certificate of proficiency issued 
under Section 1701.357, Occupations Code, and is carrying a photo 
identification that:
			(A)  verifies that the officer honorably retired 
after not less than 20 years of service as a commissioned officer; 
and
			(B)  is issued by the agency from which the peace 
officer retired or, for a federal criminal investigator, by a state 
law enforcement agency;
		(6)  a district attorney, criminal district attorney, 
or county attorney who is licensed to carry a concealed handgun 
under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code; or
		(7)  a bailiff designated as a judicial officer 
security escort under Subsection (i) who is:
			(A)  licensed to carry a concealed handgun under 
Chapter 411, Government Code; and
			(B)  engaged in escorting an active judicial 
officer.               
	(i)  An active judicial officer who presides in a court in 
which a bailiff who is not licensed as a peace officer by the Texas 
Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education 
serves may designate the bailiff as a judicial officer security 
escort in a writing delivered to the county sheriff.  The county 
sheriff shall keep a copy of the writing in the sheriff's files.
	SECTION 3.  Section 46.035, Penal Code, is amended by adding 
Subsection (h-1) to read as follows:
	(h-1)  It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b) 
that the actor, at the time of the commission of the offense, was:
		(1)  a bailiff designated as a judicial officer 
security escort under Section 46.15(i); and
		(2)  engaged in escorting an active judicial officer.                  
	SECTION 4.  The change in law made by this Act applies only 
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.  
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is 
covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the 
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.  For purposes of 
this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of 
this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that 
date.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.