By: Frullo, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Whitmire) H.B. No. 1935
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2017;
May 10, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
Justice; May 19, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 19, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the carrying of certain knives; creating a criminal
offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 52.031(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A juvenile board may establish a first offender program
under this section for the referral and disposition of children
taken into custody, or accused prior to the filing of a criminal
charge, of:
(1) conduct indicating a need for supervision;
(2) a Class C misdemeanor, other than a traffic
offense; or
(3) delinquent conduct other than conduct that
constitutes:
(A) a felony of the first, second, or third
degree, an aggravated controlled substance felony, or a capital
felony; or
(B) a state jail felony or misdemeanor involving
violence to a person or the use or possession of a firearm,
location-restricted [illegal] knife, or club, as those terms are
defined by Section 46.01, Penal Code, or a prohibited weapon, as
described by Section 46.05, Penal Code.
SECTION 2. Section 53.01(d), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) Unless the juvenile board approves a written procedure
proposed by the office of prosecuting attorney and chief juvenile
probation officer which provides otherwise, if it is determined
that the person is a child and, regardless of a finding of probable
cause, or a lack thereof, there is an allegation that the child
engaged in delinquent conduct of the grade of felony, or conduct
constituting a misdemeanor offense involving violence to a person
or the use or possession of a firearm, location-restricted
[illegal] knife, or club, as those terms are defined by Section
46.01, Penal Code, or prohibited weapon, as described by Section
46.05, Penal Code, the case shall be promptly forwarded to the
office of the prosecuting attorney, accompanied by:
(1) all documents that accompanied the current
referral; and
(2) a summary of all prior referrals of the child to
the juvenile court, juvenile probation department, or a detention
facility.
SECTION 3. Section 46.01(6), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(6) "Location-restricted [Illegal] knife" means a[:
[(A)] knife with a blade over five and one-half
inches[;
[(B) hand instrument designed to cut or stab
another by being thrown;
[(C) dagger, including but not limited to a dirk,
stiletto, and poniard;
[(D) bowie knife;
[(E) sword; or
[(F) spear].
SECTION 4. Section 46.02, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (a-4) and
(d) to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries
on or about his or her person a handgun[, illegal knife,] or club;
and
(2) [if the person] is not:
(A) [(1)] on the person's own premises or
premises under the person's control; or
(B) [(2)] inside of or directly en route to a
motor vehicle or watercraft that is owned by the person or under the
person's control.
(a-4) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries
on or about his or her person a location-restricted knife;
(2) is younger than 18 years of age at the time of the
offense; and
(3) is not:
(A) on the person's own premises or premises
under the person's control;
(B) inside of or directly en route to a motor
vehicle or watercraft that is owned by the person or under the
person's control; or
(C) under the direct supervision of a parent or
legal guardian of the person.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) or (d), an offense
under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) An offense under Subsection (a-4) is a Class C
misdemeanor.
SECTION 5. Section 46.03, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (g) and adding Subsections (a-1) and
(g-1) to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally,
knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm,
location-restricted [illegal] knife, club, or prohibited weapon
listed in Section 46.05(a):
(1) on the physical premises of a school or
educational institution, any grounds or building on which an
activity sponsored by a school or educational institution is being
conducted, or a passenger transportation vehicle of a school or
educational institution, whether the school or educational
institution is public or private, unless:
(A) pursuant to written regulations or written
authorization of the institution; or
(B) the person possesses or goes with a concealed
handgun that the person is licensed to carry under Subchapter H,
Chapter 411, Government Code, and no other weapon to which this
section applies, on the premises of an institution of higher
education or private or independent institution of higher
education, on any grounds or building on which an activity
sponsored by the institution is being conducted, or in a passenger
transportation vehicle of the institution;
(2) on the premises of a polling place on the day of an
election or while early voting is in progress;
(3) on the premises of any government court or offices
utilized by the court, unless pursuant to written regulations or
written authorization of the court;
(4) on the premises of a racetrack;
(5) in or into a secured area of an airport; or
(6) within 1,000 feet of premises the location of
which is designated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a
place of execution under Article 43.19, Code of Criminal Procedure,
on a day that a sentence of death is set to be imposed on the
designated premises and the person received notice that:
(A) going within 1,000 feet of the premises with
a weapon listed under this subsection was prohibited; or
(B) possessing a weapon listed under this
subsection within 1,000 feet of the premises was prohibited.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person
intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a
location-restricted knife:
(1) on the premises of a business that has a permit or
license issued under Chapter 25, 28, 32, 69, or 74, Alcoholic
Beverage Code, if the business derives 51 percent or more of its
income from the sale or service of alcoholic beverages for
on-premises consumption, as determined by the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission under Section 104.06, Alcoholic Beverage Code;
(2) on the premises where a high school, collegiate,
or professional sporting event or interscholastic event is taking
place, unless the person is a participant in the event and a
location-restricted knife is used in the event;
(3) on the premises of a correctional facility;
(4) on the premises of a hospital licensed under
Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code, or on the premises of a nursing
facility licensed under Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, unless
the person has written authorization of the hospital or nursing
facility administration, as appropriate;
(5) on the premises of a mental hospital, as defined by
Section 571.003, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has
written authorization of the mental hospital administration;
(6) in an amusement park; or
(7) on the premises of a church, synagogue, or other
established place of religious worship.
(g) Except as provided by Subsection (g-1), an [An] offense
under this section is a felony of the third degree [felony].
(g-1) If the weapon that is the subject of the offense is a
location-restricted knife, an offense under this section is a Class
C misdemeanor, except that the offense is a felony of the third
degree if the offense is committed under Subsection (a)(1).
SECTION 6. Section 46.03(c)(2), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(2) "Amusement park" and "premises" have ["Premises"
has] the meanings [meaning] assigned by Section 46.035.
SECTION 7. Section 46.06(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
any person knowing that the person to whom the handgun is to be
delivered intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an
unlawful act;
(2) intentionally or knowingly sells, rents, leases,
or gives or offers to sell, rent, lease, or give to any child
younger than 18 years of age any firearm, club, or
location-restricted [illegal] knife;
(3) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly sells a
firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any person who is
intoxicated;
(4) knowingly sells a firearm or ammunition for a
firearm to any person who has been convicted of a felony before the
fifth anniversary of the later of the following dates:
(A) the person's release from confinement
following conviction of the felony; or
(B) the person's release from supervision under
community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision following
conviction of the felony;
(5) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
any person knowing that an active protective order is directed to
the person to whom the handgun is to be delivered; or
(6) knowingly purchases, rents, leases, or receives as
a loan or gift from another a handgun while an active protective
order is directed to the actor.
SECTION 8. Section 46.15(e), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(e) [The provisions of] Section 46.02(a-4) does [46.02
prohibiting the carrying of an illegal knife do] not apply to an
individual carrying a location-restricted knife [bowie knife or a
sword] used in a historical demonstration or in a ceremony in which
the knife [or sword] is significant to the performance of the
ceremony.
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the
effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that
occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect on the date the offense was committed or the conduct
occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed or
conduct occurs before the effective date of this Act if any element
of the offense or the conduct occurs before that date.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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