82R23828 JSC-D
By: Flynn H.B. No. 2613
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2613:
By: Pena C.S.H.B. No. 2613
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the procedure under which a person may renew a license
to carry a concealed handgun.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 411.185, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 411.185. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS TO RENEW A LICENSE;
RENEWAL. (a) To renew a license, a license holder must, on or
before the date the license expires,[:
[(1) complete a continuing education course in handgun
proficiency under Section 411.188(c) within the six-month period
preceding:
[(A) the date of application for renewal, for a
first or second renewal; and
[(B) the date of application for renewal or the
date of application for the preceding renewal, for a third or
subsequent renewal, to ensure that the license holder is not
required to complete the course more than once in any 10-year
period; and
[(2)] submit to the department:
(1) a renewal [(A) an] application [for renewal on a]
form provided by the department by mail or, in accordance with the
procedure adopted under Subsection (d), on the Internet; and
(2) [(B) evidence of handgun proficiency, in the form
and manner required by the department;
[(C)] payment of a nonrefundable renewal fee as
set by the director [department; and
[(D) one or more photographs of the applicant
that meet the requirements of the department].
(b) The director by rule shall adopt a renewal application
form requiring an update of the information on the original
completed application. The director by rule shall set the renewal
fee in an amount that is sufficient to cover the actual cost to the
department to verify the information contained in the renewal
application form, conduct any necessary investigation concerning
the license holder's continued eligibility to hold [renew] a
license, and issue the renewed license. Not later than the 60th day
before the expiration date of the license, the department shall
mail to each license holder a written notice of the expiration of
the license, the eligibility requirements to renew a license, and a
renewal application form.
(c) The department shall allow [renew the license of] a
license holder to renew the person's license if the license holder
[who] meets all the eligibility requirements and submits the
renewal application form and fee described by Subsection (a) [all
the renewal materials]. Not later than the 45th day after receipt
of the renewal application form and fee [materials], the department
shall issue the renewed license [renewal] or notify the license
holder in writing that the department denied the license holder's
[that the] renewal application [was denied].
(d) The director by rule shall adopt a procedure by which a
license holder who satisfies the eligibility requirements to renew
a license [criteria] may submit the renewal application materials
[renew a license] by mail or on the Internet. Under the procedure,
the [The] materials [for renewal by mail] must include a form [to be
signed and returned to the department by the applicant] that
describes state law regarding[:
[(1)] the use of deadly force[;] and
[(2)] the places where it is unlawful for the holder of
a license issued under this subchapter to carry a concealed
handgun. The license holder must sign and return the form to the
department by mail or acknowledge the form electronically on the
Internet.
(e) A person who has submitted a renewal application under
this section may continue to carry the concealed handgun the person
was licensed to carry under the person's expired license until the
renewed license is received if:
(1) at any time the person is carrying the concealed
handgun, the person also carries:
(A) the person's expired license; and
(B) documentation that the person has submitted
the renewal application; and
(2) the person has not been notified by the department
that the person's renewal application has been denied.
SECTION 2. Sections 411.188(d), (g), and (k), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d) Only a qualified handgun instructor may administer the
proficiency examination to obtain [or to renew] a license. The
proficiency examination must include:
(1) a written section on the subjects listed in
Subsection (b); and
(2) a physical demonstration of proficiency in the use
of one or more handguns of specific categories and in handgun safety
procedures.
(g) A person who wishes to obtain [or renew] a license to
carry a concealed handgun must apply in person to a qualified
handgun instructor to take the appropriate course in handgun
proficiency and demonstrate handgun proficiency as required by the
department.
(k) A qualified handgun instructor may submit to the
department a written recommendation for disapproval of the
application for a license[, renewal,] or modification of a license,
accompanied by an affidavit stating personal knowledge or naming
persons with personal knowledge of facts that lead the instructor
to believe that an applicant does not possess the required handgun
proficiency. The department may use a written recommendation
submitted under this subsection as the basis for denial of a license
only if the department determines that the recommendation is made
in good faith and is supported by a preponderance of the evidence.
The department shall make a determination under this subsection not
later than the 45th day after the date the department receives the
written recommendation. The 60-day period in which the department
must take action under Section 411.177(b) is extended one day for
each day a determination is pending under this subsection.
SECTION 3. Section 411.1881(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter,
a person may not be required to complete the range instruction
portion of a handgun proficiency course to obtain an original [or
renew a concealed handgun] license issued under this subchapter if
the person:
(1) is currently serving in or is honorably discharged
from:
(A) the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or
marine corps of the United States or an auxiliary service or reserve
unit of one of those branches of the armed forces; or
(B) the state military forces, as defined by
Section 431.001; and
(2) has, within the five years preceding the date of
the person's application for the [an original or renewed] license[,
as applicable], completed a course of training in handgun
proficiency or familiarization as part of the person's service with
the armed forces or state military forces.
SECTION 4. Section 411.201(g), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(g) A license issued under this section expires as provided
by Section 411.183 and, except as otherwise provided by this
subsection, may be renewed in accordance with Section 411.185 [of
this subchapter]. [An active judicial officer is not required to
attend the classroom instruction part of the continuing education
proficiency course to renew a license.]
SECTION 5. Sections 411.188(c) and (j) and 411.199(e),
Government Code, are repealed.
SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies to any
renewal by the Department of Public Safety of a license to carry a
concealed handgun that occurs on or after the effective date of this
Act, regardless of whether the license was originally issued
before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.