BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 698 |
By: Springer |
Homeland Security & Public Safety |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Current statute requires a person seeking to obtain a concealed handgun license to submit two complete sets of legible and classifiable fingerprints taken by a person appropriately trained in recording fingerprints who is employed by a law enforcement agency or a certain designated private entity. Department of Public Safety (DPS) rules require the fingerprints to be taken digitally at an approved facility. Interested parties note that many citizens in rural areas must travel between 60 and 100 miles to reach an approved facility to have fingerprints prints taken. The parties contend that many people who work during the week may not be able to drive the distance it takes to reach an approved facility, thus presenting a barrier to the right to carry a concealed handgun. In an effort to provide an alternative method of fingerprinting to accommodate people who live far from these facilities, C.S.H.B. 698 requires DPS to establish procedures for the submission of fingerprints by an applicant for a concealed handgun license who does not reside within a specified distance of a fingerprint processing facility.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 698 amends the Government Code to require the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to establish procedures for the submission of legible and classifiable fingerprints by an applicant for a license to carry a concealed handgun who is required to submit those fingerprints to DPS, including an honorably retired peace officer, active peace officer, or active or retired judicial officer, and who does not reside within a 25-mile radius of a facility with the capability to process digital or electronic fingerprints.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 698 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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