| TO: | Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice |
| FROM: | Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB299 by Estes (Relating to the unintentional display of a weapon by a person licensed to carry a concealed handgun.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend the Penal Code relating to the offense of unlawful carrying of a handgun by a license holder. Under current law it is an offense if a person carries a handgun and intentionally fails to conceal it. Under the bill, it is only an offense if the person displays the handgun in plain view of another person in a public place in a manner calculated to cause alarm and not pursuant to a justified use of force or threat of force.
The offense of unlawful carrying of a handgun by a license holders is punishable by a Class A misdemeanor. The bill restricts the definition of that offense to certain circumstances. Restricting the definition of an offense is expected to decrease demands on county correctional agency resources due to fewer persons on community supervision and/ or in county jail confinement. 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 and programs.
| Source Agencies: |
| LBB Staff: | UP, ESi, GG, JPo
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