BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 890

By: Paxton

Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill sponsor has informed the committee that current law does not include probate judges on the list of active and retired judges and justices who qualify for the expedited process to receive a concealed carry permit. The bill sponsor has also informed the committee that the current list of judges and justices that qualify for the expedited concealed carry permit includes almost all other state and local judges, such as a judge or justice of the supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal district court, a constitutional county court, a justice court, or a municipal court. S.B. 890 seeks to address this issue by adding active and retired statutory probate judges to the list of judges and justices who are eligible to receive a license to carry a handgun under the expedited process for all other judges and justices in Texas.

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

S.B. 890 amends the Government Code to make the handgun license application process for active and retired judicial officers available to a person serving as a judge of a statutory probate court or as a visiting judge appointed to serve as the judge of a statutory county or probate court. The bill applies only to an offense committed on or after the bill's effective date. An offense committed before the bill's effective date is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For these purposes, an offense was committed before the bill's effective date if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.