| TO: | Honorable Joseph Pickett, Chair, House Committee On Homeland Security & Public Safety |
| FROM: | Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB1298 by Stickland (Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns by certain license holders on certain locations associated with a public or private school or educational institution.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the carrying of concealed handguns by certain license holders on certain locations associated with a public or private school or educational institution. Under the provisions of the bill, being a concealed handgun license holder would be a defense to prosecution for carrying a concealed handgun in places where a weapon is prohibited.
Under current law, carrying a concealed handgun on the campus of an institution of higher education, a place where weapons are prohibited, is a third degree felony. Providing a defense to prosecution for any criminal offense is expected to decrease demands on state and/or county correctional agency resources. In the case of this bill, it is assumed that any reduction in the number of offenders supervised or incarcerated under this statute would not significantly impact state correctional agencies’ workload. It is assumed implementing the provisions of the bill can be accomplished by the institutions of higher education and the Department of Public Safety within existing resources.
The bill would take effect on September 1, 2013, and apply only to an offense committed on or after that date.
| Source Agencies: | 405 Department of Public Safety, 710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices, 720 The University of Texas System Administration, 758 Texas State University System, 768 Texas Tech University System Administration, 769 University of North Texas System Administration, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 783 University of Houston System Administration
|
| LBB Staff: | UP, ESi, GG, LM, JPo
|