TO:	Honorable Ryan Guillen, Chair, House Committee on Community Safety, Select
FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB599 by Birdwell (Relating to the carrying or possession of a handgun by a district or county clerk and the issuance of a handgun license to a district or county clerk.), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted

The bill would add a district or county clerk licensed to carry a handgun to the list of individuals to which the criminal offenses of unlawful carrying of a weapon and carrying a weapon at certain places do not apply. 

Exempting certain individuals from the applicability of an existing criminal offense may result in a decrease in demands upon state and local correctional resources due to a possible decrease in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement. In fiscal year 2022, there were 1,779 individuals arrested, 137 individuals placed on community supervision, and 57 individuals admitted into a state correctional institution for felony offenses of unlawful carrying of a weapon or carrying a weapon at certain places. It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.