Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB276 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R714 JSC-F
2	2	By: Murr H.B. No. 276
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the carrying or possession of a handgun by certain
8	8	retired judges and justices and certain other governmental
9	9	officials.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 46.035(h-1), Penal Code, as added by
12	12	Chapter 1214 (H.B. 1889), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular
13	13	Session, 2007, is amended to read as follows:
14	14	(h-1) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsections (b)
15	15	and (c) that the actor, at the time of the commission of the
16	16	offense, was:
17	17	(1) an active or retired judicial officer, as defined
18	18	by Section 411.201, Government Code; [or]
19	19	(2) a bailiff designated by an [the] active judicial
20	20	officer and engaged in escorting the officer;
21	21	(3) a judge or justice of a federal court;
22	22	(4) a person who retired after serving as a judge or
23	23	justice described by Section 411.201(a)(1)(A), Government Code; or
24	24	(5) the attorney general or a United States attorney,
25	25	assistant United States attorney, assistant attorney general,
26	26	district attorney, assistant district attorney, criminal district
27	27	attorney, assistant criminal district attorney, county attorney,
28	28	or assistant county attorney.
29	29	SECTION 2. Section 46.15(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
30	30	as follows:
31	31	(a) Sections 46.02 and 46.03 do not apply to:
32	32	(1) peace officers or special investigators under
33	33	Article 2.122, Code of Criminal Procedure, and neither section
34	34	prohibits a peace officer or special investigator from carrying a
35	35	weapon in this state, including in an establishment in this state
36	36	serving the public, regardless of whether the peace officer or
37	37	special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the
38	38	officer's or investigator's duties while carrying the weapon;
39	39	(2) parole officers, and neither section prohibits an
40	40	officer from carrying a weapon in this state if the officer is:
41	41	(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the
42	42	officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and
43	43	(B) in compliance with policies and procedures
44	44	adopted by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice regarding the
45	45	possession of a weapon by an officer while on duty;
46	46	(3) community supervision and corrections department
47	47	officers appointed or employed under Section 76.004, Government
48	48	Code, and neither section prohibits an officer from carrying a
49	49	weapon in this state if the officer is:
50	50	(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the
51	51	officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and
52	52	(B) authorized to carry a weapon under Section
53	53	76.0051, Government Code;
54	54	(4) an active or retired judicial officer as defined
55	55	by Section 411.201, Government Code, who is licensed to carry a
56	56	handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code;
57	57	(5) an honorably retired peace officer or other
58	58	qualified retired law enforcement officer, as defined by 18 U.S.C.
59	59	Section 926C, who holds a certificate of proficiency issued under
60	60	Section 1701.357, Occupations Code, and is carrying a photo
61	61	identification that is issued by a federal, state, or local law
62	62	enforcement agency, as applicable, and that verifies that the
63	63	officer is an honorably retired peace officer or other qualified
64	64	retired law enforcement officer;
65	65	(6) the attorney general or a United States attorney,
66	66	district attorney, criminal district attorney, county attorney, or
67	67	municipal attorney who is licensed to carry a handgun under
68	68	Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code;
69	69	(7) an assistant United States attorney, assistant
70	70	attorney general, assistant district attorney, assistant criminal
71	71	district attorney, or assistant county attorney who is licensed to
72	72	carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code;
73	73	(8) a bailiff designated by an active judicial officer
74	74	as defined by Section 411.201, Government Code, who is:
75	75	(A) licensed to carry a handgun under Subchapter
76	76	H, Chapter 411, Government Code; and
77	77	(B) engaged in escorting the judicial officer;
78	78	(9) a juvenile probation officer who is authorized to
79	79	carry a firearm under Section 142.006, Human Resources Code; [or]
80	80	(10) a person who is volunteer emergency services
81	81	personnel if the person is:
82	82	(A) carrying a handgun under the authority of
83	83	Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code; and
84	84	(B) engaged in providing emergency services; or
85	85	(11) a person who:
86	86	(A) retired after serving as a judge or justice
87	87	described by Section 411.201(a)(1)(A), Government Code; and
88	88	(B) is licensed to carry a handgun under
89	89	Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code.
90	90	SECTION 3. Section 46.035(h-1), Penal Code, as added by
91	91	Chapter 1222 (H.B. 2300), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular
92	92	Session, 2007, is repealed.
93	93	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
94	94	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
95	95	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
96	96	by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
97	97	law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
98	98	section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
99	99	Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
100	100	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.