84R5909 JSC-D
By: Hall S.B. No. 718
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a permit to show that a person has passed a background
check to possess a firearm; authorizing fees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 411, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter H-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H-1. FIREARM PURCHASER PERMIT
Sec. 411.221. ELIGIBILITY. A person is eligible for a
firearm purchaser permit if the department determines that the
person is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under the Brady
Handgun Violence Prevention Act, 18 U.S.C. Section 922, other
federal law, or state law.
Sec. 411.222. APPLICATION. (a) A person may apply for a
firearm purchaser permit by submitting to the department an
application and any other information and materials required by the
department as necessary to determine if the person is prohibited by
law from possessing a firearm.
(b) The department by rule shall prescribe the form of the
application and the necessary information and materials. The
department shall require the submission of fingerprint records as
necessary to conduct a federal criminal background check.
(c) The department by rule may establish a fee for an
applicant in an amount sufficient to cover the administrative costs
of issuing a permit.
Sec. 411.223. REVIEW OF APPLICATION MATERIALS. (a) On
receipt of application materials, the department shall:
(1) conduct a criminal history record check of the
applicant through its computerized criminal history system;
(2) perform a search of the National Crime Information
Center database and the Interstate Identification Index maintained
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(3) send a fingerprint card to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for a national criminal history record check of the
applicant; and
(4) forward the application materials to the
director's designee in the geographical area of the applicant's
residence to enable the designee to conduct the investigation
described by Subsection (b).
(b) The director's designee shall conduct an additional
criminal history record check of the applicant and an investigation
of the applicant's local official records to verify the accuracy of
the application materials. The director's designee may access any
records necessary for purposes of this subsection. On completion
of the investigation, the director's designee shall return all
materials and disclose the result of the investigation to the
appropriate division of the department.
(c) The department may conduct any additional investigation
that the department considers necessary to verify the accuracy of
the application materials or criminal history record information of
the applicant.
Sec. 411.224. ISSUANCE OR DENIAL OF PERMIT. (a) The
department shall issue a firearm purchaser permit to an applicant
if the applicant meets all the eligibility requirements and submits
all the application materials.
(b) The department shall, not later than the 60th day after
the date of the receipt of the application:
(1) issue the permit;
(2) notify the applicant in writing that the
application was denied on the grounds that the applicant is not
permitted by law to possess a firearm; or
(3) notify the applicant in writing that the
department is unable to make a determination regarding the issuance
or denial of a permit to the applicant within the 60-day period
prescribed by this subsection and include in that notification an
explanation of the reason for that inability and an estimation of
the additional period that the department will need to make the
determination.
(c) Failure of the department to issue or deny a permit for a
period of more than 30 days after the department is required to act
under Subsection (b) constitutes denial.
(d) A permit issued under this subchapter is effective from
the date of issuance.
Sec. 411.225. FORM OF PERMIT. The department by rule shall
adopt the form of the permit.
Sec. 411.226. DUPLICATE PERMIT. (a) If a permit is lost,
stolen, or destroyed, the permit holder may apply for a duplicate
permit.
(b) A permit holder may change the permit holder's legal
name or address on the permit by submitting an application for a
duplicate permit.
(c) The department by rule shall adopt a fee for the
issuance of duplicate permits under this section.
Sec. 411.227. EXPIRATION. (a) A permit issued under this
subchapter expires on the permit holder's first birthday occurring
after the fourth anniversary of the date of issuance.
(b) A renewed permit expires on the permit holder's
birthdate, five years after the date of the expiration of the
previous permit.
(c) A duplicate permit expires on the date the original
permit would have expired.
Sec. 411.228. PERMIT RENEWAL. (a) To renew a permit, the
permit holder must submit to the department:
(1) an application for renewal on a form provided by
the department;
(2) payment of a renewal fee set by the department in
an amount to cover the costs of permit renewal; and
(3) any other information or materials the department
requires to determine whether the person continues to meet the
requirements for the permit.
(b) The department shall:
(1) verify the information contained in the renewal
application form; and
(2) conduct any necessary investigation concerning
the permit holder's continued eligibility to possess a firearm
under federal and state law.
(c) The department shall renew the permit of a permit holder
who meets all the eligibility requirements to continue to hold a
permit and submits all the required renewal materials. Not later
than the 45th day after receipt of the renewal materials, the
department shall issue the renewed permit or notify the permit
holder in writing that the department has denied the permit
holder's renewal application.
(d) The director by rule shall adopt a procedure by which a
permit holder who satisfies the eligibility requirements to
continue to hold a permit may submit the renewal materials by mail
or on the Internet.
Sec. 411.229. REVOCATION. The department shall revoke a
permit under this section if the permit holder:
(1) was not eligible for the permit at the time the
permit was issued;
(2) made a material misrepresentation or failed to
disclose a material fact in an application submitted under this
subchapter;
(3) subsequently becomes ineligible for a permit; or
(4) submits an application fee that is dishonored or
reversed, if the applicant fails to submit a cashier's check or
money order made payable to the "Department of Public Safety of the
State of Texas" in the amount of the dishonored or reversed fee,
plus $25, before the 30th day after the date of receipt of notice
from the department that the fee was dishonored or reversed.
Sec. 411.230. (a) The director shall adopt rules to
administer this subchapter.
(b) In adopting rules, the director shall conform the
permitting requirements to the requirements under the Brady Handgun
Violence Prevention Act, 18 U.S.C. Section 922, for state permits
that qualify as alternatives to the background check provision of
that law.
SECTION 2. (a) The Department of Public Safety shall adopt
rules to implement Subchapter H-1, Chapter 411, Government Code, as
added by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act.
(b) This Act may be implemented only if the firearm
purchaser permit, as added by this Act, is recognized by the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as an alternative to
the background check requirement of the Brady Handgun Violence
Prevention Act, 18 U.S.C. Section 922. The Department of Public
Safety shall apply to the federal government for recognition and
may delay implementation until the recognition is granted.
SECTION 3. 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, 2015.