85R4536 ADM-D
By: Springer H.B. No. 3242
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to eligibility for and the revocation of a license to carry
a handgun.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 411.186(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The department shall revoke a license under this section
if the license holder:
(1) was not entitled to the license at the time it 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 license
under Section 411.172, unless the sole basis for the ineligibility
is that the license holder is charged with the commission of a Class
A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense, or of an offense
under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense, or of a
felony under an information or indictment;
(4) is convicted of an offense under Section 46.035,
Penal Code;
(5) is determined by the department to have engaged in
conduct constituting a reason to suspend a license listed in
Section 411.187(a) after the person's license has been previously
suspended twice for the same reason; [or]
(6) 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,
within 30 days of being notified by the department that the fee was
dishonored or reversed; or
(7) holds a license issued as described by Section
411.1991(b) and the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement notifies
the department that the peace officer's license under Chapter 1701,
Occupations Code, has been revoked or suspended.
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 411.1882, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 411.1882. EVIDENCE OF HANDGUN PROFICIENCY FOR CERTAIN
COURT PERSONNEL AND SUPERVISION OFFICERS [PERSONS].
SECTION 3. Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.189 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.189. EVIDENCE OF HANDGUN PROFICIENCY FOR CERTAIN
PERSONS EMPLOYED BY STATE OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF STATE. (a)
This section applies only to a person, other than a person described
by Section 411.1882 or a peace officer described by Section
411.1991(a), who is employed by this state or a political
subdivision of this state in a position that requires the person to
obtain instruction on the use of handguns from a handgun
proficiency instructor approved by the Texas Commission on Law
Enforcement.
(b) A person described by Subsection (a) may establish
handgun proficiency for the purposes of this subchapter by
obtaining from the instructor a sworn statement that indicates that
the person, during the 12-month period preceding the date of the
person's application to the department, demonstrated to the
instructor proficiency in the use of handguns.
(c) The director by rule shall adopt a procedure by which a
person described by Subsection (b) may submit a form demonstrating
the person's qualification for an exemption under that subsection.
The form must provide sufficient information to allow the
department to verify whether the person qualifies for the
exemption.
(d) A license issued under this section automatically
expires on the six-month anniversary of the date the person's
status under Subsection (a) becomes inapplicable. A license that
expires under this subsection may be renewed under Section 411.185.
SECTION 4. Section 411.1991, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (a-1), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection
(e) to read as follows:
(a) A person who is licensed as a peace officer under
Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, [and employed as a peace officer by
a law enforcement agency,] or who is a member of the Texas military
forces, excluding Texas State Guard members who are serving in the
Texas Legislature, may apply for a license under this subchapter.
(a-1) An applicant who is licensed as a peace officer under
Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, shall submit to the department:
(1) the name [and rank] of the applicant; and
(2) a current copy of the applicant's peace officer
license [and evidence of employment as a peace officer].
(b) The department shall [may] issue a license under this
subchapter to an applicant under this section who is a licensed
peace officer if the applicant complies with Subsection (a-1) and
meets all other requirements of this subchapter. The department
shall waive any fee required for the issuance of an original,
duplicate, modified, or renewed license to the applicant.
(c) The department may issue a license under this subchapter
to an applicant under this section who is a member of the Texas
military forces if the applicant complies with [or] rules adopted
under Subsection (a-2)[, as applicable]. The [(c) An] applicant
[under this section] shall pay a fee of $25 for a license issued
under this subchapter.
(e) If otherwise eligible for a license under this
subchapter, a peace officer whose handgun license is revoked under
Section 411.186(a)(7) may apply, without status as a peace officer,
for a new handgun license under Section 411.174.
SECTION 5. Section 1701.501, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) If the commission becomes aware of an offense committed
by a license holder or revokes or suspends a license under this
subchapter, the commission shall immediately notify the Department
of Public Safety of the license holder's offense or of the
revocation or suspension, as applicable.
SECTION 6. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section, the change in law made by this Act applies only to an
application to obtain a license to carry a handgun submitted on or
after the effective date of this Act. An application submitted
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect when the application was submitted, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) Section 1701.501, Occupations Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a revocation or suspension of a license by the
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement on or after the effective date
of this Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.