Bill Text: TX HB2772 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to requirements for peace officers to obtain an original, duplicate, modified, or renewed license to carry a handgun; waiving a fee.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-27 - Referred to Homeland Security & Public Safety [HB2772 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB2772-Introduced.html

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85R8503 JSC-D
By: Phelan H.B. No. 2772

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requirements for peace officers to obtain an original,
duplicate, modified, or renewed license to carry a handgun; waiving
a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 411.175, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 411.175. PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING FINGERPRINTS. The
department shall establish procedures for the submission of legible
and classifiable fingerprints by an applicant for a license under
this subchapter who:
(1) is required to submit those fingerprints to the
department, including an applicant under Section 411.199[,
411.1991,] or 411.201; and
(2) resides in a county having a population of 46,000
or less and does not reside within a 25-mile radius of a facility
with the capability to process digital or electronic fingerprints.
SECTION 2. Section 411.1881(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter,
a person may not be required to complete the range instruction
portion of a handgun proficiency course to obtain a license issued
under this subchapter if the person is licensed as a peace officer
under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, and currently employed as a
peace officer by a law enforcement agency or:
(1) is currently serving in or is honorably discharged
from:
(A) the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or
marine corps of the United States or an auxiliary service or reserve
unit of one of those branches of the armed forces; or
(B) the Texas military forces, as defined by
Section 437.001; and
(2) has, within the five years preceding the date of
the person's application for the license, completed a course of
training in handgun proficiency or familiarization as part of the
person's service with the armed forces or Texas military forces.
SECTION 3. Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by amending Section 411.1991 and adding Section 411.1993 to
read as follows:
Sec. 411.1991. PEACE OFFICERS. (a) A person who is
licensed as a peace officer under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code,
and employed as a peace officer by a law enforcement agency[, or who
is a member of the Texas military forces, excluding Texas State
Guard members who are serving in the Texas Legislature,] may apply
for a license under this subchapter.
(b) [(a-1)] An applicant who is a peace officer shall submit
to the department:
(1) the name and rank of the applicant; and
(2) a current copy of the applicant's peace officer
license and evidence of employment as a peace officer.
(c) The department may issue a license under this subchapter
to an applicant under this section only if the applicant complies
with Subsection (b).
(d) The department shall waive any fee required for the
issuance of an original, duplicate, modified, or renewed license
under this subchapter for an applicant under this section.
(e) A license issued to an applicant under this section
expires as provided by Section 411.183.
Sec. 411.1993. CERTAIN MEMBERS OF TEXAS MILITARY FORCES.
(a) A person who is a member of the Texas military forces, other
than a member of the Texas State Guard who is serving in the Texas
Legislature, may apply for a license under this subchapter.
(b) [(a-2)] The department shall adopt rules regarding the
information required to be included in an application submitted by
a member of the Texas military forces under this section.
(c) [(b)] The department may issue a license under this
subchapter to an applicant under this section only if the applicant
complies with the [Subsection (a-1) or] rules adopted under
Subsection (b) [(a-2), as applicable].
(d) [(c)] An applicant under this section shall pay a fee of
$25 for a license issued under this subchapter.
(e) [(d)] A license issued to an applicant under this
section expires as provided by Section 411.183.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an application that is made to obtain an original, duplicate,
modified, or renewed license to carry a handgun and submitted on or
after the effective date of this Act. An application described by
this section that is submitted before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law in effect when the application was submitted,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.