| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the authority of certain county jail guards to carry |
|
|
firearms. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 46.15(a), Penal Code, as amended by |
|
|
Chapters 1214 (H.B. 1889) and 1222 (H.B. 2300), Acts of the 80th |
|
|
Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is reenacted and amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
(a) Sections 46.02 and 46.03 do not apply to: |
|
|
(1) peace officers 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 a federal court, 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; |
|
|
(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 15 years of service as a commissioned officer; |
|
|
and |
|
|
(B) is issued by a state or local law enforcement |
|
|
agency; |
|
|
(6) a district attorney, criminal district attorney, |
|
|
county attorney, or municipal attorney who is licensed to carry a |
|
|
concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code; |
|
|
[or] |
|
|
(7) an assistant district attorney, assistant |
|
|
criminal district attorney, or assistant county attorney who is |
|
|
licensed to carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter |
|
|
411, Government Code; |
|
|
(8) [(7)] a bailiff designated by an active judicial |
|
|
officer as defined by Section 411.201, Government Code, who is: |
|
|
(A) licensed to carry a concealed handgun under |
|
|
Chapter 411, Government Code; and |
|
|
(B) engaged in escorting the judicial officer; or |
|
|
(9) a county jail guard employed under Section 85.005, |
|
|
Local Government Code, who: |
|
|
(A) is engaged in the actual discharge of the |
|
|
guard's duties while carrying the weapon; and |
|
|
(B) is in compliance with any policies and |
|
|
procedures adopted by the sheriff employing the guard and the |
|
|
Commission on Jail Standards regarding the possession of a weapon |
|
|
while on duty or on the premises of the county jail. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |