BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3263

By: Howard

Youth Health & Safety, Select

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

For decades, auto accidents have been the leading cause of death among children. However, in

2020 that changed. Firearm-related injury and death in children is a public health crisis that requires a policy response. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, firearm-related deaths have become the leading cause of death for children and teens. The RAND Corporation has synthesized research on effective gun policy, indicating that clinical interventions and public health campaigns focused on safe storage are helpful in addressing the issue of accidental deaths. In addition, school leaders in House District 48 have advocated that firearm safety be part of the health education curriculum for Texas public school students just as harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, and the harmful effects of tobacco, drug, and alcohol use are included.

From the four-year-old who brought a loaded handgun to a Texas elementary school campus last fall to the school marshal who recently left a loaded weapon in a school bathroom, gun safety incidents may be providing children with more unsafe access to firearms outside of their homes than parents are aware. According to the Department of Public Safety, there are nearly 1.7 million people with a license to carry a handgun in Texas, and research published by the RAND Corporation estimates that 37 percent of Texans own guns. The Texas Children's Hospital conducted a study of their trauma registry for the past six years, finding that half of firearm injuries were accidental, and half of those injuries affected children younger than 10 years of age.

Adding firearm safety to the required health education curriculum will help prevent accidental deaths, promote firearm safety, and help parents, including those who are gun owners, have important conversations about keeping their children safe. H.B. 3263 seeks to address the issue of injury and death of children due to accessing loaded firearms by requiring the State Board of Education to adopt state curriculum standards for the required health curriculum that address topics relating to firearm safety.

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

H.B. 3263 amends the Education Code to require the State Board of Education, in addition to any other state curriculum standards adopted for the health curriculum, to adopt state curriculum standards for the health curriculum that address topics relating to firearm safety that focus on accident prevention, promote the safety and protection of students, and emphasize how students should respond when encountering a firearm. The bill's provisions apply beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2023.