By: Birdwell S.B. No. 599
(In the Senate - Filed January 25, 2023; February 17, 2023,
read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
March 1, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 11,
Nays 0; March 1, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the carrying or possession of a handgun by a district
clerk and the issuance of a handgun license to a district clerk.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 411.1882(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A person who is serving in this state as the attorney
general or as a judge or justice of a federal court, as an active
judicial officer as defined by Section 411.201, as a United States
attorney, assistant United States attorney, assistant attorney
general, district attorney, assistant district attorney, criminal
district attorney, assistant criminal district attorney, county
attorney, or assistant county attorney, as a district clerk, as a
supervision officer as defined by Article 42A.001, Code of Criminal
Procedure, or as a juvenile probation officer may establish handgun
proficiency for the purposes of this subchapter by obtaining from a
handgun proficiency instructor approved by the Texas Commission on
Law Enforcement for purposes of Section 1702.1675, Occupations
Code, 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.
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 411.201, Government Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 411.201. ACTIVE AND RETIRED JUDICIAL OFFICERS; CERTAIN
COURT OFFICERS.
SECTION 3. Section 411.201(h), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(h) The department shall issue a license to carry a handgun
under the authority of this subchapter to an applicant who meets the
requirements of this section for an active judicial officer and who
is a United States attorney or an assistant United States attorney,
[or to] an attorney elected or employed to represent the state in
the prosecution of felony cases, or a district clerk [who meets the
requirements of this section for an active judicial officer]. The
department shall waive any fee required for the issuance of an
original, duplicate, or renewed license under this subchapter for
an applicant who is a United States attorney or an assistant United
States attorney, [or who is] an attorney elected or employed to
represent the state in the prosecution of felony cases, or a
district clerk.
SECTION 4. Section 46.15(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) Sections 46.02 and 46.03 do not apply to:
(1) peace officers or special investigators under
Article 2.122, Code of Criminal Procedure, and neither section
prohibits a peace officer or special investigator from carrying a
weapon in this state, including in an establishment in this state
serving the public, regardless of whether the peace officer or
special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the
officer's or investigator's duties while carrying the weapon;
(2) parole officers, and neither section prohibits an
officer from carrying a weapon in this state if the officer is:
(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the
officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and
(B) in compliance with policies and procedures
adopted by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice regarding the
possession of a weapon by an officer while on duty;
(3) community supervision and corrections department
officers appointed or employed under Section 76.004, Government
Code, and neither section prohibits an officer from carrying a
weapon in this state if the officer is:
(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the
officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and
(B) authorized to carry a weapon under Section
76.0051, Government Code;
(4) an active judicial officer as defined by Section
411.201, Government Code, who is licensed to carry a handgun under
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code;
(5) an honorably retired peace officer or other
qualified retired law enforcement officer, as defined by 18 U.S.C.
Section 926C, who holds a certificate of proficiency issued under
Section 1701.357, Occupations Code, and is carrying a photo
identification that is issued by a federal, state, or local law
enforcement agency, as applicable, and that verifies that the
officer is an honorably retired peace officer or other qualified
retired law enforcement officer;
(6) the attorney general or a United States attorney,
district attorney, criminal district attorney, county attorney, or
municipal attorney who is licensed to carry a handgun under
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code;
(7) an assistant United States attorney, assistant
attorney general, assistant district attorney, assistant criminal
district attorney, or assistant county attorney who is licensed to
carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code;
(8) a bailiff designated by an active judicial officer
as defined by Section 411.201, Government Code, who is:
(A) licensed to carry a handgun under Subchapter
H, Chapter 411, Government Code; and
(B) engaged in escorting the judicial officer;
(9) a juvenile probation officer who is authorized to
carry a firearm under Section 142.006, Human Resources Code; [or]
(10) a person who is volunteer emergency services
personnel if the person is:
(A) carrying a handgun under the authority of
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code; and
(B) engaged in providing emergency services; or
(11) a district clerk who is carrying a handgun the
district clerk is licensed to carry under Subchapter H, Chapter
411, Government Code.
SECTION 5. Sections 411.1882(a) and 411.201(h), Government
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an application for 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 on the date the
application was submitted, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. Section 46.15, Penal Code, as amended 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 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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