Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB825 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	By: Geren H.B. No. 825
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the removal of a fee for the issuance of an original,
7	7	duplicate, modified, or renewed license to carry a handgun.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 411.0625(c), Government Code, is amended
10	10	to read as follows:
11	11	(c) The department shall adopt rules to establish a
12	12	procedure by which a resident of the state may apply for and be
13	13	issued a Capitol access pass. Rules adopted under this section must
14	14	include provisions for eligibility, application, approval,
15	15	issuance, and renewal that:
16	16	(1) require the department to conduct the same
17	17	background check on an applicant for a Capitol access pass that is
18	18	conducted on an applicant for a license to carry a handgun under
19	19	Subchapter H;
20	20	(2) enable the department to conduct the background
21	21	check described by Subdivision (1); and
22	22	(3) establish application and renewal fees in amounts
23	23	sufficient to cover the cost of administering this section[, not to
24	24	exceed the amounts of similar fees required under Section 411.174
25	25	for a license to carry a handgun].
26	26	SECTION 2. Section 411.173(a), Government Code, is amended
27	27	to read as follows:
28	28	(a) The department by rule shall establish a procedure for a
29	29	person who meets the eligibility requirements of this subchapter
30	30	other than the residency requirement established by Section
31	31	411.172(a)(1) to obtain a license under this subchapter if the
32	32	person is a legal resident of another state or if the person
33	33	relocates to this state with the intent to establish residency in
34	34	this state. [The procedure must include payment of a fee in an
35	35	amount sufficient to recover the average cost to the department of
36	36	obtaining a criminal history record check and investigation on a
37	37	nonresident applicant.] A license issued in accordance with the
38	38	procedure established under this subsection:
39	39	(1) remains in effect until the license expires under
40	40	Section 411.183; and
41	41	(2) may be renewed under Section 411.185.
42	42	SECTION 3. Section 411.174(a), Government Code, is amended
43	43	to read as follows:
44	44	(a) An applicant for a license to carry a handgun must
45	45	submit to the director's designee described by Section 411.176:
46	46	(1) a completed application on a form provided by the
47	47	department that requires only the information listed in Subsection
48	48	(b);
49	49	(2) one or more photographs of the applicant that meet
50	50	the requirements of the department;
51	51	(3) a certified copy of the applicant's birth
52	52	certificate or certified proof of age;
53	53	(4) proof of residency in this state;
54	54	(5) two complete sets of legible and classifiable
55	55	fingerprints of the applicant taken by a person appropriately
56	56	trained in recording fingerprints who is employed by a law
57	57	enforcement agency or by a private entity designated by a law
58	58	enforcement agency as an entity qualified to take fingerprints of
59	59	an applicant for a license under this subchapter;
60	60	(6) [a nonrefundable application and license fee of
61	61	$40 paid to the department;
62	62	[(7)] evidence of handgun proficiency, in the form and
63	63	manner required by the department;
64	64	(7) [(8)] an affidavit signed by the applicant stating
65	65	that the applicant:
66	66	(A) has read and understands each provision of
67	67	this subchapter that creates an offense under the laws of this state
68	68	and each provision of the laws of this state related to use of
69	69	deadly force; and
70	70	(B) fulfills all the eligibility requirements
71	71	listed under Section 411.172; and
72	72	(8) [(9)] a form executed by the applicant that
73	73	authorizes the director to make an inquiry into any noncriminal
74	74	history records that are necessary to determine the applicant's
75	75	eligibility for a license under Section 411.172(a).
76	76	SECTION 4. Section 411.179, Government Code, is amended by
77	77	amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
78	78	follows:
79	79	(e) [In this subsection, "veteran" has the meaning assigned
80	80	by Section 411.1951.] The department shall include the designation
81	81	"VETERAN" on the face of any original, duplicate, modified, or
82	82	renewed license under this subchapter or on the reverse side of the
83	83	license, as determined by the department, if the license is issued
84	84	to a veteran who:
85	85	(1) requests the designation; and
86	86	(2) provides proof sufficient to the department of the
87	87	veteran's military service and honorable discharge.
88	88	(f) For purposes of Subsection (e), "veteran" means a person
89	89	who:
90	90	(1) has served in:
91	91	(A) the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or
92	92	marine corps of the United States;
93	93	(B) the Texas military forces as defined by
94	94	Section 437.001; or
95	95	(C) an auxiliary service of one of those branches
96	96	of the armed forces; and
97	97	(2) has been honorably discharged from the branch of
98	98	the service in which the person served.
99	99	SECTION 5. Section 411.181(h), Government Code, is amended
100	100	to read as follows:
101	101	(h) If a license holder is required under this section to
102	102	apply for a duplicate license and the license expires not later than
103	103	the 60th day after the date of the loss, theft, or destruction of
104	104	the license, the applicant may renew the license with the modified
105	105	information included on the new license. [The applicant must pay
106	106	only the nonrefundable renewal fee.]
107	107	SECTION 6. Section 411.185(a), Government Code, is amended
108	108	to read as follows:
109	109	(a) To renew a license, a license holder must, on or before
110	110	the date the license expires, submit to the department by mail or,
111	111	in accordance with the procedure adopted under Subsection (f), on
112	112	the Internet:
113	113	(1) a renewal application on a form provided by the
114	114	department;
115	115	[(2) payment of a nonrefundable renewal fee of $40;]
116	116	and
117	117	(2) [(3)] the informational form described by
118	118	Subsection (c) signed or electronically acknowledged by the
119	119	applicant.
120	120	SECTION 7. Sections 411.186(a) and (c), Government Code,
121	121	are amended to read as follows:
122	122	(a) The department shall revoke a license under this section
123	123	if the license holder:
124	124	(1) was not entitled to the license at the time it was
125	125	issued;
126	126	(2) made a material misrepresentation or failed to
127	127	disclose a material fact in an application submitted under this
128	128	subchapter;
129	129	(3) subsequently becomes ineligible for a license
130	130	under Section 411.172, unless the sole basis for the ineligibility
131	131	is that the license holder is charged with the commission of a Class
132	132	A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense, or of an offense
133	133	under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense, or of a
134	134	felony under an information or indictment;
135	135	(4) is convicted of an offense under Section 46.035,
136	136	Penal Code; or
137	137	(5) is determined by the department to have engaged in
138	138	conduct constituting a reason to suspend a license listed in
139	139	Section 411.187(a) after the person's license has been previously
140	140	suspended twice for the same reason[; or
141	141	[(6) submits an application fee that is dishonored or
142	142	reversed if the applicant fails to submit a cashier's check or money
143	143	order made payable to the "Department of Public Safety of the State
144	144	of Texas" in the amount of the dishonored or reversed fee, plus $25,
145	145	within 30 days of being notified by the department that the fee was
146	146	dishonored or reversed].
147	147	(c) A license holder whose license is revoked for a reason
148	148	listed in Subsection (a) [Subsections (a)(1)-(5)] may reapply as a
149	149	new applicant for the issuance of a license under this subchapter
150	150	after the second anniversary of the date of the revocation if the
151	151	cause for revocation does not exist on the date of the second
152	152	anniversary. If the cause for revocation exists on the date of the
153	153	second anniversary after the date of revocation, the license holder
154	154	may not apply for a new license until the cause for revocation no
155	155	longer exists and has not existed for a period of two years.
156	156	SECTION 8. Section 411.190(c), Government Code, is amended
157	157	to read as follows:
158	158	(c) In the manner applicable to a person who applies for a
159	159	license to carry a handgun, the department shall conduct a
160	160	background check of a person who applies for certification as a
161	161	qualified handgun instructor or approved online course provider. If
162	162	the background check indicates that the applicant for certification
163	163	would not qualify to receive a handgun license, the department may
164	164	not certify the applicant as a qualified handgun instructor or
165	165	approved online course provider. If the background check indicates
166	166	that the applicant for certification would qualify to receive a
167	167	handgun license, the department shall provide handgun instructor or
168	168	online course provider training to the applicant. The applicant
169	169	shall pay a fee of $100 to the department for the training. The
170	170	applicant must take and successfully complete the training offered
171	171	by the department and pay the training fee before the department may
172	172	certify the applicant as a qualified handgun instructor or approved
173	173	online course provider. The department shall issue a license to
174	174	carry a handgun under the authority of this subchapter to any person
175	175	who is certified as a qualified handgun instructor or approved
176	176	online course provider [and who pays to the department a fee of $40
177	177	in addition to the training fee]. The department by rule may prorate
178	178	or waive the training fee for an employee of another governmental
179	179	entity.
180	180	SECTION 9. Sections 411.201(d) and (h), Government Code,
181	181	are amended to read as follows:
182	182	(d) An applicant for a license who is an active or retired
183	183	judicial officer must submit to the department:
184	184	(1) a completed application, including all required
185	185	affidavits, on a form prescribed by the department;
186	186	(2) one or more photographs of the applicant that meet
187	187	the requirements of the department;
188	188	(3) two complete sets of legible and classifiable
189	189	fingerprints of the applicant, including one set taken by a person
190	190	employed by a law enforcement agency who is appropriately trained
191	191	in recording fingerprints;
192	192	(4) evidence of handgun proficiency, in the form and
193	193	manner required by the department for an applicant under this
194	194	section;
195	195	[(5) a nonrefundable application and license fee of
196	196	$25;] and
197	197	(5) [(6)] if the applicant is a retired judicial
198	198	officer, a form executed by the applicant that authorizes the
199	199	department to make an inquiry into any noncriminal history records
200	200	that are necessary to determine the applicant's eligibility for a
201	201	license under this subchapter.
202	202	(h) The department shall issue a license to carry a handgun
203	203	under the authority of this subchapter to a United States attorney
204	204	or an assistant United States attorney, or to an attorney elected or
205	205	employed to represent the state in the prosecution of felony cases,
206	206	who meets the requirements of this section for an active judicial
207	207	officer. [The department shall waive any fee required for the
208	208	issuance of an original, duplicate, or renewed license under this
209	209	subchapter for an applicant who is a United States attorney or an
210	210	assistant United States attorney or who is an attorney elected or
211	211	employed to represent the state in the prosecution of felony
212	212	cases.]
213	213	SECTION 10. Section 118.011(b), Local Government Code, as
214	214	effective September 1, 2019, is amended to read as follows:
215	215	(b) The county clerk may set and collect the following fee
216	216	from any person:
217	217	(1) Returned Check (Sec. 118.0215) . . . . . . not
218	218	less than $15 or more than $30
219	219	(2) Records Management and Preservation Fee (Sec.
220	220	118.0216) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . not more than $5
221	221	(3) [Mental Health Background Check for License to
222	222	Carry a Handgun (Sec. 118.0217). . . . . not more than $2
223	223	[(4)] Marriage License for Out-of-State Applicants
224	224	(Sec. 118.018) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100
225	225	SECTION 11. The following provisions are repealed:
226	226	(1) Sections 411.181(d) and (i), 411.186(d), 411.194,
227	227	411.195, 411.1951, 411.1953, 411.199(d), 411.1991(c), 411.1992(d),
228	228	411.1993(e), and 411.1994(d), Government Code; and
229	229	(2) Section 118.0217, Local Government Code.
230	230	SECTION 12. The change in law made by this Act applies only
231	231	to an applicant for an original, duplicate, modified, or renewed
232	232	license to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
233	233	Government Code, as amended by this Act, who submits the
234	234	application on or after the effective date of this Act.
235	235	SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.