86R10543 MEW-D
By: Lucio S.B. No. 1555
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authorization of a license holder to carry a
concealed handgun at a school or educational institution.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 411.192, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) The department shall disclose [to a criminal justice
agency] information contained in its files and records regarding
whether a named individual or any individual named in a specified
list is licensed under this subchapter to:
(1) a criminal justice agency; or
(2) a school district, open-enrollment charter
school, or private school that requests verification under Section
411.210.
(a-1) Information on an individual subject to disclosure
under Subsection (a) [this section] includes the individual's name,
date of birth, gender, race, zip code, telephone number, e-mail
address, and Internet website address. Except as otherwise
provided by this section and by Sections [Section] 411.193 and
411.210, all other records maintained under this subchapter are
confidential and are not subject to mandatory disclosure under the
open records law, Chapter 552.
(c) The department shall notify a license holder of any
request that is made for information relating to the license holder
under this section and provide the name of the entity [agency]
making the request.
SECTION 2. Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.210 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.210. VERIFICATION OF LICENSE BY SCHOOL DISTRICT.
(a) A school district, open-enrollment charter school, or private
school may request verification from the department that a person
holds a valid license to carry a handgun under this subchapter
before authorizing the person to carry a concealed handgun on
school premises, as provided by Section 46.03(a)(1)(A)(i), Penal
Code.
(b) As soon as practicable after receiving a request under
Subsection (a), the department shall provide at no cost:
(1) verification that the person holds a valid license
to carry a handgun under this subchapter; or
(2) notice that the person does not hold a valid
license.
SECTION 3. Section 46.03(a), Penal Code, is amended 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 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 school or institution:
(i) the person possesses or goes with a
concealed handgun that the person is licensed to carry under
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code; or
(ii) the person possesses or goes with any
weapon to which this section applies, other than a concealed
handgun; 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.
SECTION 4. 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.