Texas: Summary of Major Pro- & Anti-Gun Legislation Filed To Date in the Legislature

NRA-ILA.org ^ | 26 January 2015 | unattributed

[Windflier]

The Texas Legislature convened for its 2015 Regular Session on January 13. Dozens of pro-Second Amendment measures were either pre-filed or have been introduced in recent weeks, along with a handful of sweeping gun control bills. The filing deadline for legislation is not until March 13, and NRA-ILA anticipates that many more firearm- and hunting-related bills, both good and bad, will materialize between now and then.

Contact information for state Senators can be found at www.senate.state.tx.us and for House members at www.house.state.tx.us. A list of Senate Committees was released late Friday and the House is still organizing itself, so the following measures have not yet been assigned to committee or scheduled for a hearing in either chamber. NRA-ILA will keep you informed as to where these bills are referred and when they see action, but in the meantime, here’s a rundown of the major legislation we are tracking thus far in Austin that could affect Texas gun owners and sportsmen:

Campus Carry

Today, state Senator Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury), along with 19 Senate co-authors, and state Representative Allen Fletcher (R-Tomball) introduced Senate Bill 11 and House Bill 937, respectively, to remove restrictions in state law that prohibit law-abiding, adult Concealed Handgun Licensees (CHLs) from protecting themselves on college and university campuses. You can expect to see the same misguided bias against these bills from some in the Texas media this session, but interestingly, a major newspaper in Nevada recently endorsed and strongly recommended passage of a similar measure filed in that state’s legislature. From the editorial, entitled: “Law-abiding citizens shouldn’t be defenseless on college campuses”:

‘Bad guys don’t obey gun laws, on college campuses and elsewhere. Lawmakers who oppose campus carry proposals must acknowledge that gun-free zones essentially create defenseless target zones. Considering the president of the United States and college administrators claim there is a sexual assault crisis on college campuses, why would lawmakers deny women the ability to defend themselves?’ - Las Vegas Review Journal

To read the editorial in its entirety, please click here.

Open Carry

Numerous versions of open carry bills have been filed, which can best be broken down into the following categories:

Constitutional or Permitless Carry: House Bill 195, pre-filed by state Representative Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford) and Senate Bill 342 by state Senator Don Huffines (R-Dallas) would remove the requirement that an individual obtain a Concealed Handgun License in order to carry a legally-possessed firearm openly or concealed in the State of Texas.

Open Carry for CHLs: House Bill 164, pre-filed by state Representative James White (R-Woodville), House Bill 910 by state Representative Larry Phillips (R-Sherman), and Senate Bill 346 by state Senator Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) would remove the requirement that CHLs carry their handguns hidden from plain view and allow them the option of carrying them wholly or partially visible in a belt or shoulder holster. House Bill 106, pre-filed by state Representative Dan Flynn (R-Van), House Bill 291 by state Representative Dan Huberty (R-Kingwood) and House Bill 415 by state Representative Debbie Riddle (R-Spring) are similar to those bills, but they also specify that holsters used by CHLs have dual points of resistance.

Right to Hunt and Fish Constitutional Amendments

As previously reported, legislation has been filed to amend the state constitution and establish an individual Right to Hunt & Fish: House Joint Resolution 61, pre-filed by state Representative Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin) and Senate Joint Resolution 22 by state Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe). These important measures would ensure that future wildlife management decisions are based on sound science to protect the Lone Star State’s hunting heritage for generations to come.

Clarifying or Repealing Prohibited Locations for Concealed Handgun Licensees (CHLs)

House Bill 226, pre-filed by state Representative Ryan Guillen (D-Rio Grande City) and Senate Bill 273 by state Senator Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) would impose civil fines on state agencies, cities or counties that improperly post 30.06 signs prohibiting CHLs from public property which is not off-limits to them under the Texas Penal Code. These bills are an effort to provide much-needed clarity for license holders.

House Bill 308, pre-filed by state Representative Drew Springer (R-Gainesville) would remove all restrictions on where CHLs may lawfully carry that currently exist in the Penal Code, and Senate Bill 311 by state Senator Campbell would repeal the criminal prohibition on carrying in certain locations listed in Sections 46.03 and 46.035 that are considered private property or privately-owned businesses.

Second Amendment or Sportsmen’s Sales Tax Holiday

House Bill 206, pre-filed by state Representative Jeff Leach (R-Plano), House Bill 712 by state Representative Drew Springer (R-Gainsville) and Senate Bill 228 by state Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) all create sales tax holidays for firearms and/or hunting supplies to be held one weekend a year around the start of hunting season. These bills are modeled after popular tax-free weekends held annually in both Louisiana and Mississippi for gun owners and sportsmen.

Anti-Gun Legislation Filed To-Date

State Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) has filed a laundry list of deeply flawed gun control measures. You can expect to see more anti-gun bills filed on the House side before the deadline to introduce legislation passes:

Senate Bill 256 bans the possession or transfer of so-called “large capacity magazines”;
Senate Bill 257 creates a criminal offense for failing to report a lost or stolen firearm to a law enforcement agency within 48 hours;
Senate Bill 258 restricts the private transfers of firearms at gun shows; and
Senate Bill 259 criminalizes the private transfers of firearms – even between neighbors, friends, co-workers and certain family members – and establishes an immense new state bureaucracy to implement such new restrictions.

While these are the major pro- & anti-gun and hunting bills filed for the 2015 session, this is by no means an exhaustive list. You can search for specific bills on particular subjects of interest to you at http://www.legis.state.tx.us/search/billsearch.aspx.

[Windflier]

Texas gun legislation ping!

[SWAMPSNIPER]

[Sasparilla]

#256-269 all inttroduced by Senator Ellis pandering to his fringe lunatic liberal base no doubt.

[Windflier]

"Constitutional or Permitless Carry: House Bill 195, pre-filed by state Representative Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford) and Senate Bill 342 by state Senator Don Huffines (R-Dallas) would remove the requirement that an individual obtain a Concealed Handgun License in order to carry a legally-possessed firearm openly or concealed in the State of Texas."

I voted for Don Huffines last year to replace an ingrown RINO, and he's already making me proud. Go Don!

[Windflier]

Senator Ellis pandering to his fringe lunatic liberal base no doubt.

Of course he is.

I tell you, these libs are on crack if they think they're going to erode our gun rights in Texas!

[stevie_d_64]

Where is the one (bill) that says we cannot sell, buy or use paper targets that look like a human silhouette???

I thought someone was being funny about that, but you never know...

I really heard a fleeting thing about that on the radio down our way this last week...

[Squantos]

Cool....except fer that Rodney Ellis POS agenda ....stay safe !

[Redbob]

Very good; thank you.

[vette6387]

“#256-269 all inttroduced by Senator Ellis pandering to his fringe lunatic liberal base no doubt.”

And let’s not forget that Sen. Ellis is a “Holder’s Person.”

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[MeatshieldActual]

Where is the one (bill) that says we cannot sell, buy or use paper targets that look like a human silhouette???

That was a bill filed by some Dem in the PA legislature. I haven't heard of one in Texas.

[MeatshieldActual]

They forgot to add the following important (or potentially important bills);

HB 176: nullification of federal laws for Texan made weapons. Possibly making the NFA null and void.

HB 413: basically the same as HB 176

HJR 56: constitutional amendment to deregulate wearing of arms. Eliminating that reconstructionist nonsense that infringes on traditional Texan rights. Back door constitutional carry?

[Windflier]

They forgot to add the following important (or potentially important bills)

The last paragraph of the article did say that the list wasn't comprehensive by any means. There's even a link to see additional bills being proposed.

I'm 100% in favor of the ones you posted, though.

You know, one of the first things Gov Abbott said after being sworn in, was that he'd sign an Open Carry or Constitutional Carry bill if it got to his desk. Let us hope that we now have enough TEApublicans in Austin to get some of these good gun bills past Joe Straus.

[BobL]

“State Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) has filed a laundry list of deeply flawed gun control measures.”

Obviously he’s doing it for show, as he has his own Primaries to worry about.

But there is ONE BIG DIFFERENCE this year regarding the Texas Senate, and that being that there’s a new sheriff in town, and the ability of Democrats to block pro-gun legislation IS NOW OVER. Until this session, if the Democrats stuck together, even with just 11 votes out of 31 Senators, nothing could move to the floor, as 21 votes were required, and the best the Republicans could do was 20 votes (so they needed to always find at least 1 Democrat, sometimes more, depending on the Senate makeup). Basically a filibuster on Steroids.

Now the number is 19 votes - meaning that legislation will now make it to the floor WITHOUT A SINGLE DEMOCRAT VOTE.

Thank you Lt. Governor Dan Patrick! And thank you Wendy Davis, for being at the top of the Democrat ticket, making it SO EASY for Dan and the others to SWEEP the state.

[TheOldLady]

Excellent! Thank you for the ping.

[stevie_d_64]

Sometimes little things get lost in the filing shuffle when the Texas Legislature revives itself every other year...

Like I said, I heard about this in passing on a radio program here in Houston...

I hope this gets spanked in PA as well...

[Envisioning]

Thanks for the (((ping))) and staying on top of this.

[Windflier]

Thanks for the (((ping))) and staying on top of this.

You're welcome. I got it in email, and thought I'd pass it along. Honestly, the NRA are the ones really staying on top of all this. I only wish I had the time to pay that sort of attention to these issues.

[stevie_d_64]

Dan Patrick just told you stupid gun owners to [expletive deleted]

http://www.ktrh.com/articles/houston-news-121300/dan-patrick-backs-off-open-carry-13194981/