HB 1893 off to Calendars

[jrosto]

The TSRA Legislative Alert announces that HB 1893 made it through the Public Safety Committee:

TSRA members, family and friends, you made it happen!

On Wednesday afternoon, April 8th, the House Committee on Public Safety voted out HB 1893, TSRA-backed legislation sponsored by Rep. Joe Driver (R) Garland that would allow Concealed Handgun Licensees to protect themselves on college and university campuses, by a 5-3 vote.

The committee agreed that adult students, faculty and staff who are 21 or older, who have passed extensive background checks, who have completed firearms training courses and who have been issued a concealed handgun license by the State of Texas should be able to protect themselves in campus settings just like they are legally able to do almost anywhere else in the state. The right to personal protection should not be denied to a licensee just because he or she studies, works or lives on a college or university campus.

HB 1893 next moves to House Calendars Committee to be set for debate on the House floor.

Please go to TSRA.com and click on the HB 1893 line. If your State Representative is a committee member and/or a co-author on HB 1893, take a minute and call or send email to thank them for supporting this important legislation.

If your State Representative isn't on the list, contact and urge that person to support HB 1893 when it comes to the floor of the Texas House.

CHLs need your help!

The Texas Legislature Online does not shows the introduced version. Did this bill make it through the committee "as introduced"? If so, way to go!

[Keith B]

I believe it had no amendments, so that is a good thing! The Calendars Chair is Brain McCall. He is my Representative, so I plane to call and have a discussion with him if I can catch him in between meetings.

[hirundo82]

I believe it had no amendments, so that is a good thing!

The page on the Legislature website says it was "Reported favorably as substituted," which leads me to think something was changed.

Hopefully it wasn't changed to allow only faculty and staff to carry.

[KD5NRH]

Please go to TSRA.com and click on the HB 1893 line. If your State Representative is a committee member and/or a co-author on HB 1893, take a minute and call or send email to thank them for supporting this important legislation.

Already done. In fact, it's been in the closing paragraph of every letter I've sent about other issues this session.

[Codename46]

What about the Senate version? I hear it's still pending on committee :(

[TrueFlog]

I believe it had no amendments, so that is a good thing! The Calendars Chair is Brain McCall. He is my Representative, so I plane to call and have a discussion with him if I can catch him in between meetings.

Good catch. I'm in his district as well, so I'll give him another call. He and I spoke awhile back about the Parking Lot bill. We had a pleasant five minute conversation, and I could tell I was preaching to the choir. Hopefully he'll support this one as well.

[Douva]

I believe it had no amendments, so that is a good thing!

The page on the Legislature website says it was "Reported favorably as substituted," which leads me to think something was changed.

Hopefully it wasn't changed to allow only faculty and staff to carry.

What I'm hearing is that it's been amended to allow private institutions to set their own policies. I haven't read the amendment, but I'm assuming that private institutions will now fall under the same rules as any other privately owned business. We've known all along that such an amendment might be necessary to get the bill passed.

[Greybeard]

Quote: "What I'm hearing is that it's been amended to allow private institutions to set their own policies."

That's consistent with the way one of the local reps was leaning in an interview on WBAP Radio earlier this week.

[mdek]

Quote: "What I'm hearing is that it's been amended to allow private institutions to set their own policies."

That's consistent with the way one of the local reps was leaning in an interview on WBAP Radio earlier this week.

Can anyone confirm this? I'm at work so I can't watch any of the videos of the session.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Quote: "What I'm hearing is that it's been amended to allow private institutions to set their own policies."

That's consistent with the way one of the local reps was leaning in an interview on WBAP Radio earlier this week.

Can anyone confirm this? I'm at work so I can't watch any of the videos of the session.

The committee substitute has not been "officially" released, but the amendment would allow private colleges to "opt out" of the statute, but they would have to have a hearing and students and faculty would be given the opportunity to voice their opinions. If they do opt out, they cannot prohibit guns in parking lots.

Chas.

[Douva]

Quote: "What I'm hearing is that it's been amended to allow private institutions to set their own policies."

That's consistent with the way one of the local reps was leaning in an interview on WBAP Radio earlier this week.

Can anyone confirm this? I'm at work so I can't watch any of the videos of the session.

The committee substitute has not been "officially" released, but the amendment would allow private colleges to "opt out" of the statute, but they would have to have a hearing and students and faculty would be given the opportunity to voice their opinions. If they do opt out, they cannot prohibit guns in parking lots.

Chas.

Chas, thanks for the clarification. I'm glad to hear that the parking lot protection remains in place. The public hearing provision seems like a reasonable compromise as well. It will at least give proponents of concealed carry on campus an opportunity to educate administrators, faculty, staff, and students on the facts of the issue.

If a private college chooses to "opt out," will it be required to post 30.06 if it wants to prevent visitors and guests from carrying on campus? Will a student or employee carrying on the campus be in violation of 30.06 and subject to criminal prosecution or simply in violation of administrative code and subject to administrative discipline?

[AJSully421]

great... so the ant-gun libs who are my Deans will get to decide what the majority conservative staff and students get to do at TCU...

I'd rather have them griping about how their "private property" rights were abrogated. It makes me laugh that they don't care when the state tells them what the type and diameter pipe the fire sprinklers have to be, and they only complain when the state allows people to exercise their GOD given right to self defense on their blessed campus.

[boomerang]

I don't have a problem with private universities being able to set their own policy.... as long as they don't take any of my tax dollars.

Including taxpayer funded grant money!

[Charles L. Cotton]

I don't know of a single "private" college or university that doesn't get state and/or federal money, at least in the form of guaranteed school loans. A good way to check this is see if a school is exempt from the Jean Cleary Law. Private institutions tried to get Congress to exempt them from the mandatory reporting since they were private schools. The feds said, "sure, so long as you don't get one penny of state or federal money, including the proceeds of a state or federally backed school loan.

Nevertheless, the choice here in Texas was simple; let private schools opt out or lose the bill. I trust someone at every opt-out hearing at every private school will ask if the school is willing to guarantee the safety of every student while on campus. Since they aren't governmental entities, then they don't enjoy sovereign immunity, so their answers to those questions could cost them a great deal of money down the road.

Chas.