BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3260

By: Allen

House Administration

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been argued that permitting only those who are eligible for a handgun license to apply for a pass for expedited access to the Capitol and the Capitol Extension is too restrictive and disqualifies a large number of people based on past convictions for even minor misdemeanor offenses. C.S.H.B. 3260 seeks to provide for the development of eligibility requirements for such a pass for an applicant who does not meet the handgun licensing requirements on account of a disqualifying criminal conviction.

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. 3260 amends the Government Code to require the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to establish eligibility requirements for a pass for expedited access to the Capitol and the Capitol Extension for a person who does not meet the applicable handgun license eligibility requirements on account of a disqualifying criminal conviction. The eligibility requirements must include taking into account:

· the amount of time that has passed following the criminal conviction; and

· evidence of good standing in the community submitted with the application.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3260 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 does not include a provision authorizing DPS to approve an application for the pass provided by a person who does not meet the applicable handgun license eligibility requirements and to consider certain factors in determining whether to do so. The substitute includes instead a provision requiring DPS to establish eligibility requirements for the pass that include taking into account those same factors for an applicant who does not meet those requirements on account of a disqualifying criminal conviction.