89R10543 JSC-F
By: Cain H.B. No. 4818
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of an enhanced license designation for a
license to carry a handgun and the locations in which the holder of
that enhanced license may carry a handgun.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 411.171, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (8) to read as follows:
(8) "Enhanced license" means a license to carry a
handgun that bears an enhanced license designation under Section
411.1845.
SECTION 2. Section 411.174, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-2) to read as follows:
(b-2) The application must provide space for the applicant
to:
(1) request an enhanced license designation described
by Section 411.1845; and
(2) include sufficient proof of the applicant's
satisfaction of the requirements of Section 411.1845, including
the applicant's successful completion of:
(A) the training course under Section
411.1845(c); and
(B) the demonstration of handgun proficiency
under Section 411.1845(d), not earlier than the 180th day before
the date of the application.
SECTION 3. Section 411.179, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e-1) to read as
follows:
(a) The department by rule shall adopt the form of the
license. A license must include:
(1) a number assigned to the license holder by the
department;
(2) a statement of the period for which the license is
effective;
(3) a photograph of the license holder;
(4) the license holder's full name, date of birth, hair
and eye color, height, weight, and signature;
(5) the license holder's residence address or, as
provided by Subsection (d), the street address of the courthouse in
which the license holder or license holder's spouse or parent
serves as a federal judge or the license holder serves as a state
judge;
(6) the number of a driver's license or an
identification certificate issued to the license holder by the
department;
(7) the designation "VETERAN" if required under
Subsection (e);
(8) any at-risk designation for which the license
holder has established eligibility under Section 411.184; [and]
(9) if applicable, a protective order designation
under Section 411.1735; and
(10) the designation "ENHANCED" if required under
Subsection (e-1).
(e-1) The department shall include the designation
"ENHANCED" on the face of any license under this subchapter if the
license is issued to an applicant who:
(1) requests the designation; and
(2) includes sufficient proof of the applicant's
satisfaction of the requirements of Section 411.1845, including the
applicant's successful completion of:
(A) the training course under Section
411.1845(c); and
(B) the demonstration of handgun proficiency
under Section 411.1845(d), not earlier than the 180th day before
the date of the application.
SECTION 4. Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.1845 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.1845. ENHANCED LICENSE DESIGNATION; TRAINING
COURSE. (a) In this section:
(1) "Commissioned security officer" has the meaning
assigned by Section 1702.002, Occupations Code.
(2) "Open-enrollment charter school" means a school
that has been granted a charter under Subchapter D, Chapter 12,
Education Code.
(3) "Peace officer" has the meaning assigned by
Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(4) "Public security officer" has the meaning assigned
by Section 1701.001, Occupations Code.
(5) "School district" means any public school district
in this state.
(6) "School marshal" means a person appointed under
Section 37.0811, Education Code.
(7) "School resource officer" has the meaning assigned
by Section 1701.601, Occupations Code.
(b) The department shall designate a license to carry a
handgun as an enhanced license if the applicant:
(1) requests the designation;
(2) has held a license to carry a handgun issued under
this subchapter for at least four years;
(3) is at least:
(A) 25 years of age; or
(B) 22 years of age if first issued a license
under Section 411.172(g);
(4) has not been convicted of a Class A misdemeanor or
equivalent offense;
(5) has not, in the 15-year period preceding the date
of application, been convicted of a Class B misdemeanor or
equivalent offense or of an offense under Section 42.01, Penal
Code, or equivalent offense;
(6) has not, in the 20-year period preceding the date
of application, had a license revoked under Section 411.186(a)(3);
(7) has not received:
(A) involuntary psychiatric hospitalization;
(B) psychiatric hospitalization in the 20-year
period preceding the date of application;
(C) inpatient or residential substance abuse
treatment in the 20-year period preceding the date of application;
or
(D) a diagnosis, in the 20-year period preceding
the date of application, by a licensed physician that the person is
dependent on alcohol, a controlled substance, or a similar
substance;
(8) has not received a diagnosis at any time by a
licensed physician that the person suffers or has suffered from a
psychiatric disorder or condition consisting of or relating to any
condition listed in Section 411.172(e)(5); and
(9) has successfully completed the training course
described by Subsection (c) and the demonstration of handgun
proficiency under Subsection (d).
(c) The director by rule shall establish minimum standards
for a training course that a license holder may complete to receive
an enhanced license designation under this section. The training
course must:
(1) be administered by a qualified handgun instructor;
(2) include not less than 32 hours and not more than 48
hours of instruction;
(3) provide classroom training in:
(A) de-escalation techniques;
(B) self-defense;
(C) discerning between self-defense scenarios
and interdiction scenarios;
(D) the dangers and potential legal consequences
of attempting to interdict a crime that does not pose a threat to
the license holder;
(E) tactical thinking relating to cover for and
concealment of the license holder;
(F) the principles of tactical movement;
(G) methods to conceal a handgun and methods to
ensure the secure carrying of a concealed handgun;
(H) the laws pertaining to where and when a
holder of an enhanced license may not carry a handgun in this state;
and
(I) the consequences of improper use of a
handgun; and
(4) provide at least 20 hours of in-person field
instruction, including at least 16 hours on a live-fire shooting
range, in the use of handguns, including:
(A) instinctive or reactive shooting;
(B) discerning between "shoot" and "don't shoot"
scenarios;
(C) tactical shooting;
(D) shooting while moving;
(E) shooting in low-light conditions;
(F) tactical movement through doorways and
hallways where an assailant may be present; and
(G) tactical movement into and out of rooms where
an assailant may be present.
(d) To receive an enhanced license, a license holder must
complete a physical demonstration of proficiency in the use of one
or more handguns and in handgun safety procedures as provided by
Section 411.188(d)(2), to be administered by a qualified handgun
instructor. The physical demonstration of proficiency described by
this subsection must be completed not earlier than the 180th day
before the date of application.
(e) The department shall issue a renewal license without the
enhanced license designation unless the application for renewal
includes proof that the applicant has successfully repeated the
demonstration of handgun proficiency described by Subsection (d)
under the supervision of a qualified handgun instructor not earlier
than the 180th day before the date the application for the renewal
of the enhanced license is submitted.
(f) An applicant for an enhanced license is responsible for
paying to the course provider the costs incurred by the provider in
administering the training course and handgun proficiency
demonstration under this section.
(g) The training course under Subsection (c) and the handgun
proficiency demonstration under Subsection (d) may be administered
in any state, district, or territory of the United States, provided
that it is administered by a person certified by a governmental
entity to provide instruction in the use of handguns.
(h) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a
governmental entity that employs or otherwise supervises a holder
of an enhanced license may not adopt a rule or regulation that
prohibits the license holder from carrying a concealed, holstered
handgun while fulfilling the license holder's official duties.
(i) A school district or an open-enrollment charter school
may prohibit an employee who holds an enhanced license from
carrying a handgun while fulfilling the license holder's duties as
an employee of the school district or charter school only if:
(1) the employee is performing duties in a school
building that is consistently staffed during classroom hours with
at least one school resource officer or school marshal who is armed
with a functional semiautomatic firearm loaded with at least seven
rounds of ammunition; or
(2) the employee is performing duties on a school
campus that is consistently staffed during classroom hours with at
least two school resource officers or school marshals each of whom
is armed with a functional semiautomatic firearm loaded with at
least seven rounds of ammunition.
(j) A governmental entity may prohibit an employee who holds
an enhanced license from carrying a handgun within an area in which:
(1) each accessible point of entry is controlled and
guarded by:
(A) at least one peace officer or public security
officer acting in the official discharge of the officer's duties;
or
(B) at least one commissioned security officer
acting in the official discharge of the officer's duties;
(2) each officer described by Subdivision (1) carries
on the officer's person a readily dischargeable firearm that the
officer is trained and qualified to use;
(3) each person entering the location is screened for
weapons with a metal detector or magnetometer designed for security
applications; and
(4) the belongings of each person entering the
location are screened either by:
(A) use of an x-ray machine designed for security
applications; or
(B) an exhaustive hand search.
(k) A governmental entity may prohibit an employee who holds
an enhanced license from carrying a handgun within an area that:
(1) is not open to the public;
(2) is used for medical, scientific, or engineering
purposes; and
(3) presents a specific danger due to the presence of:
(A) dangerous pathogens;
(B) powerful electromagnets; or
(C) exceptionally poisonous, corrosive, or
combustible chemicals.
(l) A governmental entity may prohibit an employee who holds
an enhanced license from carrying a handgun on premises described
by Section 46.03(a)(3), (5), (9), (10), or (12), Penal Code.
SECTION 5. Section 30.06, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the license holder carries a concealed, holstered handgun and holds
a license to carry a handgun issued by this state with an enhanced
designation under Section 411.1845, Government Code. The defense
provided under this subsection is unavailable if the license holder
was personally given notice by oral communication described by
Subsection (b) and subsequently failed to depart.
SECTION 6. Section 46.15, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (s) and (t) to read as follows:
(s) Sections 46.03(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(4), (a)(7), (a)(8),
(a)(11), (a)(13), (a)(14), (a-3), and (a-4) do not apply to a person
who holds a license in this state to carry a handgun issued under
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, if:
(1) the person's license to carry a handgun bears an
enhanced license designation under Section 411.1845, Government
Code;
(2) the person carries one or more handguns, each of
which is concealed and carried in a holster, and no other type of
weapon to which Section 46.03 applies;
(3) the person is not intoxicated;
(4) the person does not consume alcohol while in the
location;
(5) the location is not secured as described by
Section 411.1845(j), Government Code; and
(6) the person does not deliberately display or reveal
the presence of the handgun, except under circumstances that would
justify the use of deadly force under Section 9.32 or 9.33.
(t) The defense provided by Subsection (s) is not available
if:
(1) the portion of a premises in which firearms are
forbidden:
(A) is not open to the public;
(B) is used for medical, scientific, or
engineering purposes; and
(C) presents a specific danger due to the
presence of:
(i) dangerous pathogens;
(ii) powerful electromagnets; or
(iii) exceptionally poisonous, corrosive,
or combustible chemicals; and
(2) the license holder was personally given notice by
oral communication that firearms are prohibited in that area and
subsequently failed to depart.
SECTION 7. The public safety director of the Department of
Public Safety shall adopt the rules necessary to implement Section
411.1845, Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than July
1, 2026.
SECTION 8. A qualified handgun instructor may not offer the
training course described by Section 411.1845(c), Government Code,
as added by this Act, or administer a handgun proficiency
demonstration under Section 411.1845(d), Government Code, as added
by this Act, before September 1, 2026.
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act in amending
Sections 30.06 and 46.15, Penal Code, apply only to an offense
committed on or after September 1, 2026. An offense committed
before September 1, 2026, is governed by the law in effect
immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense
was committed before September 1, 2026, if any element of the
offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.