By: Huffman  S.B. No. 2247
         (In the Senate - Filed May 4, 2021; May 5, 2021, read first
  time and referred to Committee on Finance; May 11, 2021, reported
  favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 2; May 11, 2021,
  sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the removal of a fee for the issuance of an original,
  duplicate, modified, or renewed license to carry a handgun.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 411.0625(c), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  The department shall adopt rules to establish a
  procedure by which a resident of the state may apply for and be
  issued a Capitol access pass.  Rules adopted under this section
  must include provisions for eligibility, application, approval,
  issuance, and renewal that:
               (1)  require the department to conduct the same
  background check on an applicant for a Capitol access pass that is
  conducted on an applicant for a license to carry a handgun under
  Subchapter H;
               (2)  enable the department to conduct the background
  check described by Subdivision (1); and
               (3)  establish application and renewal fees in amounts
  sufficient to cover the cost of administering this section[, not to
  exceed the amounts of similar fees required under Section 411.174
  for a license to carry a handgun].
         SECTION 2.  Section 411.173(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The department by rule shall establish a procedure for a
  person who meets the eligibility requirements of this subchapter
  other than the residency requirement established by Section
  411.172(a)(1) to obtain a license under this subchapter if the
  person is a legal resident of another state or if the person
  relocates to this state with the intent to establish residency in
  this state. [The procedure must include payment of a fee in an
  amount sufficient to recover the average cost to the department of
  obtaining a criminal history record check and investigation on a
  nonresident applicant.] A license issued in accordance with the
  procedure established under this subsection:
               (1)  remains in effect until the license expires under
  Section 411.183; and
               (2)  may be renewed under Section 411.185.
         SECTION 3.  Section 411.174(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  An applicant for a license to carry a handgun must
  submit to the director's designee described by Section 411.176:
               (1)  a completed application on a form provided by the
  department that requires only the information listed in Subsection
  (b);
               (2)  one or more photographs of the applicant that meet
  the requirements of the department;
               (3)  a certified copy of the applicant's birth
  certificate or certified proof of age;
               (4)  proof of residency in this state;
               (5)  two complete sets of legible and classifiable
  fingerprints of the applicant taken by a person appropriately
  trained in recording fingerprints who is employed by a law
  enforcement agency or by a private entity designated by a law
  enforcement agency as an entity qualified to take fingerprints of
  an applicant for a license under this subchapter;
               (6)  [a nonrefundable application and license fee of
  $40 paid to the department;
               [(7)]  evidence of handgun proficiency, in the form and
  manner required by the department;
               (7) [(8)]  an affidavit signed by the applicant stating
  that the applicant:
                     (A)  has read and understands each provision of
  this subchapter that creates an offense under the laws of this state
  and each provision of the laws of this state related to use of
  deadly force; and
                     (B)  fulfills all the eligibility requirements
  listed under Section 411.172; and
               (8) [(9)]  a form executed by the applicant that
  authorizes the director to make an inquiry into any noncriminal
  history records that are necessary to determine the applicant's
  eligibility for a license under Section 411.172(a).
         SECTION 4.  Section 411.179, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
  follows:
         (e)  [In this subsection, "veteran" has the meaning assigned
  by Section 411.1951.]  The department shall include the designation
  "VETERAN" on the face of any original, duplicate, modified, or
  renewed license under this subchapter or on the reverse side of the
  license, as determined by the department, if the license is issued
  to a veteran who:
               (1)  requests the designation; and
               (2)  provides proof sufficient to the department of the
  veteran's military service and honorable discharge.
         (f)  For purposes of Subsection (e), "veteran" means a person
  who:
               (1)  has served in:
                     (A)  the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or
  marine corps of the United States;
                     (B)  the Texas military forces as defined by
  Section 437.001; or
                     (C)  an auxiliary service of one of those branches
  of the armed forces; and
               (2)  has been honorably discharged from the branch of
  the service in which the person served.
         SECTION 5.  Section 411.181(h), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (h)  If a license holder is required under this section to
  apply for a duplicate license and the license expires not later than
  the 60th day after the date of the loss, theft, or destruction of
  the license, the applicant may renew the license with the modified
  information included on the new license. [The applicant must pay
  only the nonrefundable renewal fee.]
         SECTION 6.  Section 411.185(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  To renew a license, a license holder must, on or before
  the date the license expires, submit to the department by mail or,
  in accordance with the procedure adopted under Subsection (f), on
  the Internet:
               (1)  a renewal application on a form provided by the
  department;
               [(2)  payment of a nonrefundable renewal fee of $40;]
  and
               (2) [(3)]  the informational form described by
  Subsection (c) signed or electronically acknowledged by the
  applicant.
         SECTION 7.  Sections 411.186(a) and (c), Government Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The department shall revoke a license under this section
  if the license holder:
               (1)  was not entitled to the license at the time it was
  issued;
               (2)  made a material misrepresentation or failed to
  disclose a material fact in an application submitted under this
  subchapter;
               (3)  subsequently becomes ineligible for a license
  under Section 411.172, unless the sole basis for the ineligibility
  is that the license holder is charged with the commission of a Class
  A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense, or of an offense
  under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense, or of a
  felony under an information or indictment;
               (4)  is convicted of an offense under Section 46.035,
  Penal Code; or
               (5)  is determined by the department to have engaged in
  conduct constituting a reason to suspend a license listed in
  Section 411.187(a) after the person's license has been previously
  suspended twice for the same reason[; or
               [(6)  submits an application fee that is dishonored or
  reversed if the applicant fails to submit a cashier's check or money
  order made payable to the "Department of Public Safety of the State
  of Texas" in the amount of the dishonored or reversed fee, plus $25,
  within 30 days of being notified by the department that the fee was
  dishonored or reversed].
         (c)  A license holder whose license is revoked for a reason
  listed in Subsection (a) [Subsections (a)(1)-(5)] may reapply as a
  new applicant for the issuance of a license under this subchapter
  after the second anniversary of the date of the revocation if the
  cause for revocation does not exist on the date of the second
  anniversary.  If the cause for revocation exists on the date of the
  second anniversary after the date of revocation, the license holder
  may not apply for a new license until the cause for revocation no
  longer exists and has not existed for a period of two years.
         SECTION 8.  Section 411.190(c), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  In the manner applicable to a person who applies for a
  license to carry a handgun, the department shall conduct a
  background check of a person who applies for certification as a
  qualified handgun instructor or approved online course provider.
  If the background check indicates that the applicant for
  certification would not qualify to receive a handgun license, the
  department may not certify the applicant as a qualified handgun
  instructor or approved online course provider. If the background
  check indicates that the applicant for certification would qualify
  to receive a handgun license, the department shall provide handgun
  instructor or online course provider training to the applicant.
  The applicant shall pay a fee of $100 to the department for the
  training. The applicant must take and successfully complete the
  training offered by the department and pay the training fee before
  the department may certify the applicant as a qualified handgun
  instructor or approved online course provider. The department
  shall issue a license to carry a handgun under the authority of this
  subchapter to any person who is certified as a qualified handgun
  instructor or approved online course provider [and who pays to the
  department a fee of $40 in addition to the training fee]. The
  department by rule may prorate or waive the training fee for an
  employee of another governmental entity.
         SECTION 9.  Sections 411.201(d) and (h), Government Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (d)  An applicant for a license who is an active or retired
  judicial officer must submit to the department:
               (1)  a completed application, including all required
  affidavits, on a form prescribed by the department;
               (2)  one or more photographs of the applicant that meet
  the requirements of the department;
               (3)  two complete sets of legible and classifiable
  fingerprints of the applicant, including one set taken by a person
  employed by a law enforcement agency who is appropriately trained
  in recording fingerprints;
               (4)  evidence of handgun proficiency, in the form and
  manner required by the department for an applicant under this
  section;
               [(5)  a nonrefundable application and license fee of
  $25;] and
               (5) [(6)]  if the applicant is a retired judicial
  officer, a form executed by the applicant that authorizes the
  department to make an inquiry into any noncriminal history records
  that are necessary to determine the applicant's eligibility for a
  license under this subchapter.
         (h)  The department shall issue a license to carry a handgun
  under the authority of this subchapter to a United States attorney
  or an assistant United States attorney, or to an attorney elected or
  employed to represent the state in the prosecution of felony cases,
  who meets the requirements of this section for an active judicial
  officer. [The department shall waive any fee required for the
  issuance of an original, duplicate, or renewed license under this
  subchapter for an applicant who is a United States attorney or an
  assistant United States attorney or who is an attorney elected or
  employed to represent the state in the prosecution of felony
  cases.]
         SECTION 10.  Section 118.011(b), Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The county clerk may set and collect the following fee
  from any person:
               (1)  Returned Check (Sec. 118.0215)  . . . . . . not
  less than $15 or more than $30
               (2)  Records Management and Preservation Fee (Sec.
  118.0216) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . not more than $10
               (3)  [Mental Health Background Check for License to
  Carry a Handgun (Sec. 118.0217)  . . . . . not more than $2
               [(4)]  Marriage License for Out-of-State Applicants
  (Sec. 118.018) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100
         SECTION 11.  The following provisions are repealed:
               (1)  Sections 411.181(d) and (i), 411.186(d), 411.194,
  411.195, 411.1951, 411.1953, 411.1954, 411.199(d), 411.1991(c),
  411.1992(d), 411.1993(e), and 411.1994(d), Government Code; and
               (2)  Section 118.0217, Local Government Code.
         SECTION 12.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to an applicant for an original, duplicate, modified, or renewed
  license to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
  Government Code, as amended by this Act, who submits the
  application on or after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 13.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
 
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