BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2137

By: Burns

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been noted that the legislature recently enacted legislation waiving the fees involved with obtaining a handgun license for active peace officers. There have been calls to ensure that, once a peace officer retires, the officer is not then subjected to the applicable fees. C.S.H.B. 2137 seeks to waive any fee required for a handgun license for an applicant who is a qualifying honorably retired peace officer and to exempt such an applicant from the classroom instruction and range instruction portions of a handgun proficiency course under certain circumstances.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2137 amends the Government Code to require the Department of Public Safety to waive any fee required for a handgun license for an applicant who is a qualifying honorably retired peace officer. The bill requires the sworn statement from the head of the law enforcement agency employing the applicant to include whether the applicant holds a current certificate of weapons proficiency. The bill exempts an applicant who holds such a certificate from the range instruction portion of the handgun proficiency course and exempts an applicant who submits the appropriate fingerprints and applicable accompanying documentation and who complies with all other requirements for a handgun license from the requirement to complete the classroom instruction portion of the proficiency course.    

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2137 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a provision revising the contents of the sworn statement from the applicable agency head.

The substitute includes provisions providing certain exceptions to the classroom instruction and range instruction portions of the handgun proficiency course.