HBA-JRA H.B. 821 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 821
By: Tillery
Public Safety
3/10/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, judges in Texas do not have the authority to suspend the
concealed handgun license of a person when issuing a protective order
against them.  As a matter of practice, the Department of Pubic Safety
revokes these licenses when such an order is issued but the revocation
involves a thirtyday response period and administrative appeals process.
H.B. 821 authorizes a court to contemporaneously suspend the concealed
handgun license of a person found to have committed family violence for the
duration of the protective order.  The notice and hearing due process
requirement is met during the protective order procedure. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 85.022, Family Code, by adding Subsection (d),
to authorize a court, in a protective order, to suspend a license to carry
a concealed handgun issued under Section 411.177, Government Code, held by
a person found to have committed family violence. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 85.042, Family Code, by adding Subsection (e),
as follows: 

(e)  Requires the clerk of the issuing court to send a copy of an original
or modified protective order that suspends a license to carry a concealed
handgun to the appropriate division of the Department of Public Safety
(department) at its Austin headquarters. Requires the department, on
receipt of the order, to record the suspension of the license, report the
suspension to local law enforcement agencies, as appropriate, and to demand
surrender of the suspended license from the license holder. 

SECTION 3.  Amends Sections 411.187(a) and (c), Government Code, to specify
that a license may be suspended for the duration of or the period specified
by the protective order issued under Title 4, Family Code, if the person's
license is subject to suspension for committing family violence. Makes
conforming changes. 

SECTION 4.  (a)  Provides that, in accordance with Section 311.031(c),
Government Code, which gives effect to a substantive amendment enacted by
the same legislature that codifies the amended statute, the text of Section
411.187, Government Code, as set out in Section 3 of this Act, gives effect
to changes made by Chapter 1261, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1997, which amended Section 13(a) and (c) of Vernon's Annotated
Civil Statutes, Article 4413(29ee) (now this section). 

(b)  Provides that, to the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over
another Act of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, relating to
nonsubstantive additions to or correction in enacted codes. 

SECTION 5.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.
Makes application of Section 85.022, Family Code, and Section 411.187,
Government  Code, as amended by this Act, prospective. 

SECTION 6.  Emergency clause.