H.B. No. 554
AN ACT
relating to a defense to prosecution for the offense of possessing
or carrying a weapon in or into the secured area of an airport.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 46.03, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (e-1) and (e-2) and amending Subsection (f) to read as
follows:
(e-1) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(5)
that the actor:
(1) possessed, at the screening checkpoint for the
secured area, a concealed handgun that the actor was licensed to
carry under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code; and
(2) exited the screening checkpoint for the secured
area immediately upon completion of the required
screening
processes and notification that the actor possessed the handgun.
(e-2) A peace officer investigating conduct that may
constitute an offense under Subsection (a)(5) and that consists
only of an actor's possession of a concealed handgun that the actor
is licensed to carry under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government
Code, may not arrest the actor for the offense unless:
(1) the officer advises the actor of the defense
available under Subsection (e-1) and gives the actor an opportunity
to exit the screening checkpoint for the secured area; and
(2) the actor does not immediately exit the checkpoint
upon completion of the required screening processes.
(f) Except as provided by Subsection (e-1), it [It] is not a
defense to prosecution under this section that the actor possessed
a handgun and was licensed to carry a concealed handgun under
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act 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
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 554 was passed by the House on May 7,
2015, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 554 on May 27, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 1, 2
present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 554 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 24, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor