S.B. No. 321
AN ACT
relating to an employee's transportation and storage of certain
firearms or ammunition while on certain property owned or
controlled by the employee's employer.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 52, Labor Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter G to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER G. RESTRICTIONS ON PROHIBITING EMPLOYEE
TRANSPORTATION OR STORAGE OF CERTAIN FIREARMS OR AMMUNITION
Sec. 52.061. RESTRICTION ON PROHIBITING EMPLOYEE ACCESS TO
OR STORAGE OF FIREARM OR AMMUNITION. A public or private employer
may not prohibit an employee who holds a license to carry a
concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code,
who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm, or who lawfully
possesses ammunition from transporting or storing a firearm or
ammunition the employee is authorized by law to possess in a locked,
privately owned motor vehicle in a parking lot, parking garage, or
other parking area the employer provides for employees.
Sec. 52.062. EXCEPTIONS. (a) Section 52.061 does not:
(1) authorize a person who holds a license to carry a
concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code,
who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm, or who lawfully
possesses ammunition to possess a firearm or ammunition on any
property where the possession of a firearm or ammunition is
prohibited by state or federal law; or
(2) apply to:
(A) a vehicle owned or leased by a public or
private employer and used by an employee in the course and scope of
the employee's employment, unless the employee is required to
transport or store a firearm in the official discharge of the
employee's duties;
(B) a school district;
(C) an open-enrollment charter school, as
defined by Section 5.001, Education Code;
(D) a private school, as defined by Section
22.081, Education Code;
(E) property owned or controlled by a person,
other than the employer, that is subject to a valid, unexpired oil,
gas, or other mineral lease that contains a provision prohibiting
the possession of firearms on the property; or
(F) property owned or leased by a chemical
manufacturer or oil and gas refiner with an air authorization under
Chapter 382, Health and Safety Code, and on which the primary
business conducted is the manufacture, use, storage, or
transportation of hazardous, combustible, or explosive materials,
except in regard to an employee who holds a license to carry a
concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code,
and who stores a firearm or ammunition the employee is authorized by
law to possess in a locked, privately owned motor vehicle in a
parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area the employer
provides for employees that is outside of a secured and restricted
area:
(i) that contains the physical plant;
(ii) that is not open to the public; and
(iii) the ingress into which is constantly
monitored by security personnel.
(b) Section 52.061 does not prohibit an employer from
prohibiting an employee who holds a license to carry a concealed
handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, or who
otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm, from possessing a firearm
the employee is otherwise authorized by law to possess on the
premises of the employer's business. In this subsection,
"premises" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.035(f)(3), Penal
Code.
Sec. 52.063. IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY. (a) Except in
cases of gross negligence, a public or private employer, or the
employer's principal, officer, director, employee, or agent, is not
liable in a civil action for personal injury, death, property
damage, or any other damages resulting from or arising out of an
occurrence involving a firearm or ammunition that the employer is
required to allow on the employer's property under this subchapter.
(b) The presence of a firearm or ammunition on an employer's
property under the authority of this subchapter does not by itself
constitute a failure by the employer to provide a safe workplace.
(c) For purposes of this section, a public or private
employer, or the employer's principal, officer, director,
employee, or agent, does not have a duty:
(1) to patrol, inspect, or secure:
(A) any parking lot, parking garage, or other
parking area the employer provides for employees; or
(B) any privately owned motor vehicle located in
a parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area described by
Paragraph (A); or
(2) to investigate, confirm, or determine an
employee's compliance with laws related to the ownership or
possession of a firearm or ammunition or the transportation and
storage of a firearm or ammunition.
Sec. 52.064. CONSTRUCTION OF PROVISION RELATING TO IMMUNITY
FROM CIVIL LIABILITY. Section 52.063 does not limit or alter the
personal liability of:
(1) an individual who causes harm or injury by using a
firearm or ammunition;
(2) an individual who aids, assists, or encourages
another individual to cause harm or injury by using a firearm or
ammunition; or
(3) an employee who transports or stores a firearm or
ammunition on the property of the employee's employer but who fails
to comply with the requirements of Section 52.061.
SECTION 2. Section 411.203, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 411.203. RIGHTS OF EMPLOYERS. This subchapter does
not prevent or otherwise limit the right of a public or private
employer to prohibit persons who are licensed under this subchapter
from carrying a concealed handgun on the premises of the business.
In this section, "premises" has the meaning assigned by Section
46.035(f)(3), Penal Code.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date of
this Act. A cause of action that accrues before that date is
governed by the law as it existed immediately before the effective
date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 321 passed the Senate on
March 15, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1;
May 17, 2011, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and
requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 20, 2011, House
granted request of the Senate; May 27, 2011, Senate adopted
Conference Committee Report by the following vote: Yeas 29,
Nays 2.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 321 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 4, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 117,
Nays 29, two present not voting; May 20, 2011, House granted
request of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee;
May 26, 2011, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the
following vote: Yeas 130, Nays 11, two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor