82R1631 GCB-F
 
  By: Hughes H.B. No. 857
 
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to exempting certain judicial officers from certain
 
  requirements for obtaining or renewing a concealed handgun license
 
  and to the authority of certain judicial officers to carry certain
 
  weapons.
         
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         
         SECTION 1.  Section 411.201(a)(1), Government Code, is
 
  amended to read as follows:
               
               (1)  "Active judicial officer" means:
                     
                     (A)  a person serving as 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; [or]
                     
                     (B)  a federal judge who is a resident of this
 
  state; or
                     
                     (C)  a person appointed and serving as an
 
  associate judge under Chapter 201, Family Code.
         
         SECTION 2.  Section 46.15(a), Penal Code, is 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)  an active judicial officer as defined by Section
 
  411.201, Government Code, [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;
               
               (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)  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 juvenile probation officer who is authorized to
 
  carry a firearm under Section 142.006, Human Resources Code.
         
         SECTION 3.  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 occurred before that date.
         
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.