81S10046 KSD-F

By: Hegar S.B. No. 13

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to an employee's transportation and storage of certain firearms or ammunition while on certain property owned or controlled by the employee's employer.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 52, Labor Code, is amended by adding Subchapter G to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER G. RESTRICTIONS ON PROHIBITING EMPLOYEE TRANSPORTATION

OR STORAGE OF CERTAIN FIREARMS OR AMMUNITION

Sec. 52.061. RESTRICTION ON PROHIBITING EMPLOYEE ACCESS TO OR STORAGE OF FIREARM OR AMMUNITION. (a) A public or private employer may not prohibit an employee who holds a license to carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm, or who lawfully possesses ammunition from transporting or storing a firearm or ammunition the employee is authorized by law to possess in a locked, privately owned motor vehicle.

(b) Other than in a civil action based on a violation of Subsection (a), a public or private employer or the employer's principal, officer, director, or agent is not liable in a civil action for personal injury, death, property damage, or any other damages resulting from or arising out of an occurrence involving a firearm or ammunition transported or stored in accordance with this section, including an action for damages resulting from or arising out of the theft of the firearm or ammunition or the use of the firearm or ammunition by a person other than the employee authorized by this section to transport or store the firearm or ammunition. The presence of a firearm or ammunition transported or stored in the manner and in a location described by Subsection (a) does not by itself constitute a failure by the employer to provide a safe workplace. For purposes of this section, a public or private employer or the employer's principal, officer, director, or agent does not have a duty:

(1) to patrol, inspect, or secure:

(A) any parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area the employer provides for employees; or

(B) any privately owned motor vehicle located in such a parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area; or

(2) to investigate, confirm, or determine an employee's compliance with laws related to the transportation and storage of a firearm or ammunition in a privately owned motor vehicle.

(c) This section does not prohibit a public or private employer from adopting a policy requiring that any firearm described by Subsection (a), while on property controlled by the employer, must be stored in a locked, privately owned motor vehicle and hidden from plain view or locked in a case or container located in the vehicle while the vehicle is unattended.

(d) This section does not prohibit a public or private employer from prohibiting an employee who holds a license to carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, or who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm, from transporting or storing a firearm the employee is authorized by law to possess in a locked, privately owned motor vehicle in a parking area the employer provides employees if:

(1) access to the parking area is restricted or limited through the use of a fence, gate, security station, sign, or other means of restricting or limiting general public access; and

(2) the employer provides:

(A) an alternative location on the employer's property for the employee to securely store the employee's unloaded firearm while on the employer's property; or

(B) an alternative parking area reasonably close to the main parking area in which employees and other persons may transport or store firearms in locked, privately owned motor vehicles.

(e) This section does not prohibit an employer from prohibiting an employee who holds a license to carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, or who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm, from possessing a firearm the employee is otherwise authorized by law to possess on the premises of the employer's business. In this subsection, "premises" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.035(f)(3), Penal Code.

(f) This section does not apply to a vehicle owned or leased by a public or private employer and used by an employee in the course and scope of the employee's employment, unless the employee is required to transport or store a firearm in the official discharge of the employee's duties.

(g) This section does not authorize a person who holds a license to carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm, or who lawfully possesses ammunition to possess a firearm or ammunition on any property where the possession of a firearm or ammunition is prohibited by state or federal law.

(h) This section does not apply to:

(1) a school district;

(2) an open-enrollment charter school, as defined by Section 5.001, Education Code; or

(3) a private school, as defined by Section 22.081, Education Code.

SECTION 2. Section 411.203, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 411.203. RIGHTS OF EMPLOYERS. This subchapter does not prevent or otherwise limit the right of a public or private employer to prohibit persons who are licensed under this subchapter from carrying a concealed handgun on the premises of the business. In this subsection, "premises" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.035(f)(3), Penal Code.

SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that accrues before that date is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect November 1, 2009.