Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1173 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R25085 AAF-D
2	2	By: Villalba H.B. No. 1173
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1173:
4	4	By: Raney C.S.H.B. No. 1173
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to school marshals for public junior colleges, notifying a
10	10	parent or guardian whether an employee of a public junior college is
11	11	appointed school marshal, and the confidentiality of information
12	12	submitted to or collected by the Texas Commission on Law
13	13	Enforcement in connection with a certification for appointment as
14	14	school marshal.
15	15	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
16	16	SECTION 1. Articles 2.127(a) and (d), Code of Criminal
17	17	Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
18	18	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a school marshal
19	19	may make arrests and exercise all authority given peace officers
20	20	under this code, subject to written regulations adopted by the
21	21	board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of an
22	22	open-enrollment charter school under Section 37.0811, Education
23	23	Code, or the governing board of a public junior college under
24	24	Section 51.220, Education Code, and only act as necessary to
25	25	prevent or abate the commission of an offense that threatens
26	26	serious bodily injury or death of students, faculty, or visitors on
27	27	school premises.
28	28	(d) A person may not serve as a school marshal unless the
29	29	person is:
30	30	(1) licensed under Section 1701.260, Occupations
31	31	Code; and
32	32	(2) appointed by the board of trustees of a school
33	33	district or the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school
34	34	under Section 37.0811, Education Code, or the governing board of a
35	35	public junior college under Section 51.220, Education Code.
36	36	SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
37	37	amended by adding Section 51.220 to read as follows:
38	38	Sec. 51.220. PUBLIC JUNIOR COLLEGE SCHOOL MARSHALS. (a) In
39	39	this section, "public junior college" has the meaning assigned by
40	40	Section 61.003.
41	41	(b) The governing board of a public junior college may
42	42	appoint one or more school marshals.
43	43	(c) The governing board of a public junior college may
44	44	select for appointment as a school marshal under this section an
45	45	applicant who is an employee of the public junior college and
46	46	certified as eligible for appointment under Section 1701.260,
47	47	Occupations Code. The governing board may, but shall not be
48	48	required to, reimburse the amount paid by the applicant to
49	49	participate in the training program under that section.
50	50	(d) A school marshal appointed by the governing board of a
51	51	public junior college may carry or possess a handgun on the physical
52	52	premises of a public junior college campus, but only:
53	53	(1) in the manner provided by written regulations
54	54	adopted by the governing board; and
55	55	(2) at a specific public junior college campus as
56	56	specified by the governing board.
57	57	(e) Any written regulations adopted for purposes of
58	58	Subsection (d) must provide that a school marshal may carry a
59	59	concealed handgun as described by Subsection (d), except that if
60	60	the primary duty of the school marshal involves regular, direct
61	61	contact with students, the marshal may not carry a concealed
62	62	handgun but may possess a handgun on the physical premises of a
63	63	public junior college campus in a locked and secured safe within the
64	64	marshal's immediate reach when conducting the marshal's primary
65	65	duty. The written regulations must also require that a handgun
66	66	carried by or within access of a school marshal may be loaded only
67	67	with frangible ammunition designed to disintegrate on impact for
68	68	maximum safety and minimal danger to others.
69	69	(f) A school marshal may access a handgun under this section
70	70	only under circumstances that would justify the use of deadly force
71	71	under Section 9.32 or 9.33, Penal Code.
72	72	(g) A public junior college employee's status as a school
73	73	marshal becomes inactive on:
74	74	(1) expiration of the employee's school marshal
75	75	license under Section 1701.260, Occupations Code;
76	76	(2) suspension or revocation of the employee's license
77	77	to carry a concealed handgun issued under Subchapter H, Chapter
78	78	411, Government Code;
79	79	(3) termination of the employee's employment with the
80	80	public junior college; or
81	81	(4) notice from the governing board of the public
82	82	junior college that the employee's services as school marshal are
83	83	no longer required.
84	84	(h) The identity of a school marshal appointed under this
85	85	section is confidential, except as provided by Section 1701.260(j),
86	86	Occupations Code, and is not subject to a request under Chapter 552,
87	87	Government Code.
88	88	(i) If a parent or guardian of a student enrolled at a public
89	89	junior college inquires in writing, the governing board of the
90	90	public junior college shall provide the parent or guardian written
91	91	notice indicating whether any employee of the public junior college
92	92	is currently appointed a school marshal. The notice may not
93	93	disclose information that is confidential under Subsection (h).
94	94	SECTION 3. Sections 1701.260(a), (j), and (l), Occupations
95	95	Code, are amended to read as follows:
96	96	(a) The commission shall establish and maintain a training
97	97	program open to any employee of a school district, [or]
98	98	open-enrollment charter school, or public junior college who holds
99	99	a license to carry a concealed handgun issued under Subchapter H,
100	100	Chapter 411, Government Code. The training may be conducted only by
101	101	the commission staff or a provider approved by the commission.
102	102	(j) The commission shall submit the identifying information
103	103	collected under Subsection (b) for each person licensed by the
104	104	commission under this section to:
105	105	(1) the director of the Department of Public Safety;
106	106	(2) the person's employer, if the person is employed by
107	107	a school district, [or] open-enrollment charter school, or public
108	108	junior college;
109	109	(3) the chief law enforcement officer of the local
110	110	municipal law enforcement agency if the person is employed at a
111	111	campus of a school district, [or] open-enrollment charter school,
112	112	or public junior college located within a municipality;
113	113	(4) the sheriff of the county if the person is employed
114	114	at a campus of a school district, [or] open-enrollment charter
115	115	school, or public junior college that is not located within a
116	116	municipality; and
117	117	(5) the chief administrator of any peace officer
118	118	commissioned under Section 37.081 or 51.203, Education Code, if the
119	119	person is employed at a school district or public junior college
120	120	that has commissioned a peace officer under either [that] section.
121	121	(l) All [Identifying] information [about a person]
122	122	collected or submitted under this section is confidential, except
123	123	as provided by Subsection (j), and is not subject to disclosure
124	124	under Chapter 552, Government Code.
125	125	SECTION 4. Section 1701.001(8), Occupations Code, is
126	126	amended to read as follows:
127	127	(8) "School marshal" means a person employed and
128	128	appointed by the board of trustees of a school district, [or] the
129	129	governing body of an open-enrollment charter school, or the
130	130	governing board of a public junior college under Article 2.127,
131	131	Code of Criminal Procedure, and in accordance with and having the
132	132	rights provided by Section 37.0811 or 51.220, Education Code.
133	133	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.