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 intentional display of a handgun by a person licensed to carry a concealed handgun. ), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
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. The offense of unlawful carrying of a handgun by a license holders is punishable by a Class A misdemeanor.
A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed one year and/or a fine not to exceed $4,000. The impact of the bill on correctional populations would depend on how many fewer persons would be prosecuted under the proposed statute compared to existing statute. It is assumed that the number of offenders supervised or incarcerated under this statute would not significantly impact state correctional agency resources. In fiscal year 2012, there were 151 arrests and 24 placements on community supervision for the offense of unlawful carrying of a handgun by a license holder.
Source Agencies: |
LBB Staff: | UP, ESi, GG, JPo
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