Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB465 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R2520 KJE-D
2	2	By: Anchia H.B. No. 465
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prosecution of certain offenses involving the
8	8	carrying of weapons at amusement parks or locations associated with
9	9	schools or educational institutions.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 46.03(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
12	12	as follows:
13	13	(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally,
14	14	knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm, illegal
15	15	knife, club, or prohibited weapon listed in Section 46.05(a):
16	16	(1) on the [physical] premises, campus, or grounds of
17	17	a school or other educational institution, on any grounds or
18	18	building on which an activity sponsored by a school or other
19	19	educational institution is being conducted or is regularly
20	20	conducted, or in a passenger transportation vehicle of a school or
21	21	other educational institution, whether the school or [educational]
22	22	institution is public or private, unless:
23	23	(A) pursuant to written regulations or written
24	24	authorization of the school or institution; or
25	25	(B) the person possesses or goes with a concealed
26	26	handgun that the person is licensed to carry under Subchapter H,
27	27	Chapter 411, Government Code, and no other weapon to which this
28	28	section applies, on the premises, campus, or grounds of an
29	29	institution of higher education or a private or independent
30	30	institution of higher education, on any grounds or building on
31	31	which an activity sponsored by the institution is being conducted
32	32	or is regularly conducted, or in a passenger transportation vehicle
33	33	of the institution;
34	34	(2) on the premises of a polling place on the day of an
35	35	election or while early voting is in progress;
36	36	(3) on the premises of any government court or offices
37	37	utilized by the court, unless pursuant to written regulations or
38	38	written authorization of the court;
39	39	(4) on the premises of a racetrack;
40	40	(5) in or into a secured area of an airport; or
41	41	(6) within 1,000 feet of premises the location of
42	42	which is designated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a
43	43	place of execution under Article 43.19, Code of Criminal Procedure,
44	44	on a day that a sentence of death is set to be imposed on the
45	45	designated premises and the person received notice that:
46	46	(A) going within 1,000 feet of the premises with
47	47	a weapon listed under this subsection was prohibited; or
48	48	(B) possessing a weapon listed under this
49	49	subsection within 1,000 feet of the premises was prohibited.
50	50	SECTION 2. Section 46.03(c), Penal Code, is amended by
51	51	amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (1-a) and (1-b) to
52	52	read as follows:
53	53	(1) "Educational institution" means:
54	54	(A) a school;
55	55	(B) a postsecondary educational institution; or
56	56	(C) a library, children's nursery, day-care
57	57	facility, or after-school program operated by a public or private
58	58	school or postsecondary educational institution.
59	59	(1-a) "Institution of higher education" and "private
60	60	or independent institution of higher education" have the meanings
61	61	assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
62	62	(1-b) "Postsecondary educational institution" means
63	63	any public or private institution that provides courses of
64	64	instruction beyond those offered in secondary schools. The term
65	65	includes:
66	66	(A) a proprietary, vocational, or technical
67	67	school; and
68	68	(B) an institution of higher education or a
69	69	private or independent institution of higher education.
70	70	SECTION 3. Section 46.035(f)(1), Penal Code, is amended to
71	71	read as follows:
72	72	(1) "Amusement park" means a permanent indoor or
73	73	outdoor facility or park where amusement rides are available for
74	74	use by the public that [is located in a county with a population of
75	75	more than one million,] encompasses at least 10 [75] acres in
76	76	surface area, is enclosed with access only through controlled
77	77	entries, [is open for operation more than 120 days in each calendar
78	78	year,] and has security guards on the premises at all times. [The
79	79	term does not include any public or private driveway, street,
80	80	sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking
81	81	area.]
82	82	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
83	83	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
84	84	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
85	85	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
86	86	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
87	87	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
88	88	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
89	89	before that date.
90	90	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.