By: Campbell, Birdwell	S.B. No. 273
	(In the Senate - Filed January 2, 2015; January 28, 2015, read
	first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
	March 11, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
	Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 2; March 11, 2015,
	sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 273	By:  Nelson

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to certain offenses relating to carrying concealed
	handguns on property owned or leased by a governmental entity;
	providing a civil penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
	amended by adding Section 411.209 to read as follows:
	Sec. 411.209.  WRONGFUL EXCLUSION OF CONCEALED HANDGUN
	LICENSE HOLDER.  (a)  A state agency or a political subdivision of
	the state may not provide notice by a communication described by
	Section 30.06, Penal Code, or by any sign expressly referring to
	that law or to a concealed handgun license, that a license holder
	carrying a handgun under the authority of this subchapter is
	prohibited from entering or remaining on a premises or other place
	owned or leased by the governmental entity unless license holders
	are prohibited from carrying a handgun on the premises or other
	place by Section 46.03 or 46.035, Penal Code.
	(b)  A state agency or a political subdivision of the state
	that violates Subsection (a) is liable for a civil penalty of:
	(1)  not less than $1,000 and not more than $1,500 for
	the first violation; and
	(2)  not less than $10,000 and not more than $10,500 for
	the second or a subsequent violation.
	(c)  Each day of a continuing violation of Subsection (a)
	constitutes a separate violation.
	(d)  A citizen of this state or a person licensed to carry a
	concealed handgun under this subchapter may file a complaint with
	the attorney general that a state agency or political subdivision
	is in violation of Subsection (a) if the citizen or person provides
	the agency or subdivision a written notice that describes the
	violation and specific location of the sign found to be in violation
	and the agency or subdivision does not cure the violation before the
	end of the third business day after the date of receiving the
	written notice.  A complaint filed under this subsection must
	include evidence of the violation and a copy of the written notice.
	(e)  A civil penalty collected by the attorney general under
	this section shall be deposited to the credit of the compensation to
	victims of crime fund established under Subchapter B, Chapter 56,
	Code of Criminal Procedure.
	(f)  Before a suit may be brought against a state agency or a
	political subdivision of the state for a violation of Subsection
	(a), the attorney general must investigate the complaint to
	determine whether legal action is warranted.  If legal action is
	warranted, the attorney general must give the chief administrative
	officer of the agency or political subdivision charged with the
	violation a written notice that:
	(1)  describes the violation and specific location of
	the sign found to be in violation;
	(2)  states the amount of the proposed penalty for the
	violation; and
	(3)  gives the agency or political subdivision 15 days
	from receipt of the notice to remove the sign and cure the violation
	to avoid the penalty, unless the agency or political subdivision
	was found liable by a court for previously violating Subsection
	(a).
	(g)  If the attorney general determines that legal action is
	warranted and that the state agency or political subdivision has
	not cured the violation within the 15-day period provided by
	Subsection (f)(3), the attorney general or the appropriate county
	or district attorney may sue to collect the civil penalty provided
	by Subsection (b).  The attorney general may also file a petition
	for a writ of mandamus or apply for other appropriate equitable
	relief.  A suit or petition under this subsection may be filed in a
	district court in Travis County or in a county in which the
	principal office of the state agency or political subdivision is
	located.  The attorney general may recover reasonable expenses
	incurred in obtaining relief under this subsection, including court
	costs, reasonable attorney's fees, investigative costs, witness
	fees, and deposition costs.
	(h)  Sovereign immunity to suit is waived and abolished to
	the extent of liability created by this section.
	SECTION 2.  Section 46.035(c), Penal Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(c)  A license holder commits an offense if the license
	holder intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries a handgun
	under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code,
	regardless of whether the handgun is concealed, in the room or rooms
	where a [at any] meeting of a governmental entity is held and if the
	meeting is an open meeting subject to Chapter 551, Government Code,
	and the entity provided notice as required by that chapter.
	SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act in amending
	Section 46.035(c), Penal Code, applies only to an offense committed
	on or after the effective date of this Act.  An offense committed
	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
	effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is
	continued in effect for that purpose.  For purposes of this section,
	an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if
	any element of the offense occurred before that date.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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