New Texas Gun Laws

Our every other year legislative session ended with a handful of gun related bills passing and signed by Governor Abbott. Thanks to the NRA and Texas State Rifle Association who helped.

House Bill 121 by Rep. Valoree Swanson (R-Spring) & Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) provides a legal defense for License To Carry holders who unknowingly enter establishments with 30.06 or 30.07 signs, as long they promptly leave when verbally informed of the policy.

House Bill 302 by Rep. Dennis Paul (R-Houston) & Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) prohibits “no firearms” clauses in future residential lease agreements and protect tenants’ rights to possess lawfully-owned firearms and ammunition in dwelling units and on manufactured home lots, and to transport their guns directly between their personal vehicles and these locations.

House Bill 1143 by Rep. Cole Hefner (R-Mount Pleasant) & Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) prevents school districts from effectively prohibiting the possession of firearms in private motor vehicles by limiting their authority to regulate the manner in which they are stored in locked cars and trucks -- including by employees.

House Bill 1177 by Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) & Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) protects citizens from being charged with a crime for carrying a handgun without a License To Carry while evacuating from an area during a declared state or local disaster, or while returning to that area, and allows shelters which are otherwise prohibited locations to decide whether to accommodate evacuees with firearms in their possession.

House Bill 1791 by Rep. Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth) & Sen. Pat Fallon (R-Prosper) closes loopholes in the state's "wrongful exclusion" law that cities, counties and state agencies have been using to restrict License To Carry holders in government buildings.

House Bill 2363 by Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine) & Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) allows foster parents to store firearms in a safe and secure manner while making them more readily accessible for personal protection purposes. ​

House Bill 3231 by Rep. Travis Clardy (R-Nacogdoches) & Sen. Pat Fallon (R-Prosper) improves and modernizes the state’s firearms preemption law, curbs the ability of municipalities to abuse their zoning authority and circumvent state law to restrict the sale or transfer of firearms and ammunition at the local level, and allows the State Attorney General to recover reasonable expenses incurred when obtaining injunctions against localities which violate the preemption statute.

Senate Bill 535 by Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) & Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Van) strikes "churches, synagogues, or other places of worship" from the list of prohibited locations in the Penal Code, clarifying that these places have the same right enjoyed by nearly all other controllers of private property in the state to decide whether to allow License To Carry holders on their premises.

Senate Bill 741 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) & Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa) prohibits a property owners' association from including or enforcing a provision in a dedicatory instrument that prohibits, restricts, or has the effect of prohibiting or restricting any person who is otherwise authorized from lawfully possessing, transporting, or storing a firearm.

Senate Bill 772 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) & Rep. Drew Springer (R-Muenster) provides civil liability protection to business establishments which choose not to post 30.06/30.07 signs, making them less vulnerable to frivolous lawsuits and giving them an incentive to adopt permissive policies for the carrying of handguns by law-abiding citizens on their premises.

https://www.nraila.org/articles/201...-ten-pro-second-amendment-bills-into-law

H.B. No. 121

AN ACT
relating to a defense to prosecution for the offense of trespass by
certain persons carrying handguns.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 30.06, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the license holder was personally given notice by oral
communication described by Subsection (b) and promptly departed
from the property.
SECTION 2. Section 30.07, 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 was personally given notice by oral
communication described by Subsection (b) and promptly departed
from the property.

All good stuff! Is there some bad stuff that's not being shown here or was it just another home-run?

The above list, IMO, was nothing more than housekeeping that needed to be done for quite some time. It's also an opportunity for Alice Tripp to pat herself on the back, but that's probably a whole 'nother discussion........

Meanwhile during the past session, Constitutional Carry literally died on the vine thanks to that POS House Speaker Bonnen, and $1M will be spent (of a $10 BILLION unnecessary increase in the state budget) on a taxpayer sponsored gun safety campaign. I suppose it'll be something along the lines of Click It or Ticket.

In short and overall, the Republican majority just accomplished a very purple legislative session...more like a season of scores on errors than anything remotely spectacular as putting balls over the fence.

not perfect but it could have been a lot worse

And hopefully with a strong Trump turnout at the next election we will move from purple to red....

We can hope, but people are moving to Texas by the droves (particularly from Kali) and bringing their liberal politics and ideas with them.

in my opinion, this is what has happened to Austin

I would like some clarification as to whether or not you can carry on a COE lake. It's government property, so I've heard no, but I've also heard that you can because there is no 30.06 posting.
Anyone know the law on this?