bill creating an “enhanced” handgun carry license

The text as introduced · 2,200 words

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.