HBA-AMW H.B. 600 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 600 By: Goodman Criminal Jurisprudence 3/4/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1998, the Texas Department of Human Services estimated that nearly 825,000 women were the victims of family violence. When a gun is present, the chance that a domestic violence incident will end in serious injury or murder increases. In this state, many domestic violence victims have been shot by spouses or intimate partners and several peace officers have been killed by handguns while responding to domestic violence calls. Although federal law prohibits the possession of a firearm while a person is subject to a protective order, Texas law currently contains no such prohibition. House Bill 600 prohibits a person from possessing a firearm while an active protective order is directed to the person. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 600 amends the Penal Code to provide that a person commits a state jail felony if the person possesses a firearm while an active protective order is directed to the person. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.