81R9597 KCR-D
By: Heflin H.B. No. 2378
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of certain juvenile probation officers to
carry firearms.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 141.066, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 141.066. [PROHIBITION ON] CARRYING OF FIREARM BY
CERTAIN OFFICERS PROHIBITED.
SECTION 2. Section 141.066(b), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) an employee of the Texas Youth Commission; or
(2) a juvenile probation officer authorized to carry a
firearm under Section 142.006.
SECTION 3. Chapter 142, Human Resources Code, is amended by
adding Section 142.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 142.006. AUTHORIZATION TO CARRY FIREARM. (a) A
juvenile probation officer may carry a firearm in the course of the
officer's official duties if:
(1) the juvenile probation officer possesses a
certificate of firearms proficiency issued by the Commission on Law
Enforcement Officer Standards and Education under Section
1701.258, Occupations Code; and
(2) the chief juvenile probation officer of the
juvenile probation department that employs the juvenile probation
officer authorizes the juvenile probation officer to carry a
firearm in the course of the officer's official duties.
(b) This section does not affect the sovereign immunity of
the state, an agency of the state, or a political subdivision of the
state.
SECTION 4. Section 46.15(a), Penal Code, as amended by
Chapters 1214 (H.B. 1889) and 1222 (H.B. 2300), Acts of the 80th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is reenacted and amended to
read as follows:
(a) Sections 46.02 and 46.03 do not apply to:
(1) peace officers or special investigators under
Article 2.122, Code of Criminal Procedure, and neither section
prohibits a peace officer or special investigator from carrying a
weapon in this state, including in an establishment in this state
serving the public, regardless of whether the peace officer or
special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the
officer's or investigator's duties while carrying the weapon;
(2) parole officers and neither section prohibits an
officer from carrying a weapon in this state if the officer is:
(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the
officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and
(B) in compliance with policies and procedures
adopted by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice regarding the
possession of a weapon by an officer while on duty;
(3) community supervision and corrections department
officers appointed or employed under Section 76.004, Government
Code, and neither section prohibits an officer from carrying a
weapon in this state if the officer is:
(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the
officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and
(B) authorized to carry a weapon under Section
76.0051, Government Code;
(4) a judge or justice of a federal court, the supreme
court, the court of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, a district
court, a criminal district court, a constitutional county court, a
statutory county court, a justice court, or a municipal court who is
licensed to carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter
411, Government Code;
(5) an honorably retired peace officer or federal
criminal investigator who holds a certificate of proficiency issued
under Section 1701.357, Occupations Code, and is carrying a photo
identification that:
(A) verifies that the officer honorably retired
after not less than 15 years of service as a commissioned officer;
and
(B) is issued by a state or local law enforcement
agency;
(6) a district attorney, criminal district attorney,
county attorney, or municipal attorney who is licensed to carry a
concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code;
[or]
(7) an assistant district attorney, assistant
criminal district attorney, or assistant county attorney who is
licensed to carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter
411, Government Code;
(8) [(7)] a bailiff designated by an active judicial
officer as defined by Section 411.201, Government Code, who is:
(A) licensed to carry a concealed handgun under
Chapter 411, Government Code; and
(B) engaged in escorting the judicial officer; or
(9) a juvenile probation officer who is authorized to
carry a firearm under Section 142.006, Human Resources Code.
SECTION 5. Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code,
is amended by adding Section 1701.258 to read as follows:
Sec. 1701.258. FIREARMS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR JUVENILE
PROBATION OFFICERS. (a) The commission and the Texas Juvenile
Probation Commission by rule shall adopt a memorandum of
understanding that establishes a training program in the use of
firearms by juvenile probation officers. The memorandum of
understanding must establish a program that provides instruction
in:
(1) legal limitations on the use of firearms and on the
powers and authority of juvenile probation officers;
(2) range firing and procedure, and firearms safety
and maintenance; and
(3) other topics determined by the commission and the
Texas Juvenile Probation Commission to be necessary for the
responsible use of firearms by juvenile probation officers.
(b) The commission shall administer the training program
and shall issue a certificate of firearms proficiency to each
juvenile probation officer the commission determines has
successfully completed the program described by Subsection (a).
(c) The commission may establish reasonable and necessary
fees for the administration of this section.
(d) This section does not affect the sovereign immunity of
the state, an agency of the state, or a political subdivision of the
state.
SECTION 6. The Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
Standards and Education and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission
shall adopt the memorandum of understanding required by Section
1701.258, Occupations Code, as added by this Act, not later than
January 1, 2010.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.