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SB263 - Removing the caliber restriction for the LTC test - Committee report filed with the Committee Coordinator
SB349 - Clarification of School Grounds - Committee report filed with the Committee Coordinator
SB14 - Mental Hospital Clarification - Recommended for local & uncontested calendar

While not sexy bills, these three are very good bills that will help advance gun rights in the future. If these three pass (particularly SB349) along with the suppressor de-regulation, I think this will be a decent session since SB16 has already passed and been sent to the Governor. There were a LOT of bad bills filed this session as well that were killed. Interesting to note that most of these bills originated in the Senate.

tx85 wrote:HB300 (house version of SB16) has been placed on the House floor calendar for 05/02/2017.
SB16 is in House Calendars Committee and has not been scheduled for the floor.

Am I correct in assuming that this means they're not going to schedule SB16 and instead try to force the Senate to pass HB300 instead? (so the House can take credit). That would be a pretty bold move, given that SB16 is one of the Lt. Governor's priority bills.

Similar thing was done last session with Open and Concealed Carry. SB11 (Campus Carry) and SB17 (Open Carry) were both priority bills. HB910 (Open carry) and SB11 (Campus Carry) wound up being passed by both. SB17 wound up stuck in the House Homeland Security and Public Safety committee and HB937 (companion to Campus Carry, SB11) got stuck in House Calendars. Let us just hope that egos don't get in the way of passing good legislation.

If anything this should show you that the Speaker of the House has a TREMENDOUS amount of power since he is the one that appoints the Calendars committee.

Captain Matt wrote:If HB 560 doesn't pass, I probably won't renew my TX LTC no matter what happens with HB 1911.

that is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

"I don't like that I can't carry more places, so I'll give up the ability to legally carry outside my car, home or property under my control."

Keep in mind I could be completely wrong about all of the above. I'm not as experienced politically as Charles and others and I am probably premature in my assessment. We'll see what comes out of the sausage grinder at the end of the session.

"Politics is the art of the possible." - Otto von Bismarck

Liberty wrote:

bblhd672 wrote:Alice Tripp sure seems to hold Terry Holcomb and Open Carry Texas in high regard.

It's pretty clear that OCT's agenda is progressing more quickly than TSRA's or the concealed carry community's agenda. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Maybe we just aren't loud enough.

Keep in mind, the Stickland/OCT bill, HB 375 was left pending in committee. With the passage of HB1911 out of committee, based on my previous interpretation of situations where there are competing bills, this pretty much means that HB375 is dead. It was stated during testimony by the Republican Party chair of Travis County that so-called "Constitutional Carry" was one of the highest priority planks in the Republican Party platform in 2016. So that means there is a will of the people behind it that many politicians will understand.

Back to the original topic, here is where I see the status of the Restoration of Gun Rights in Austin in the 85th Legislature based on the Bill Status Report and impressions from hearing testimony etc:

HB14: Clarification of Mental Hospital Carry - Very good chance of passing this session.

HB421: Place of Worship volunteer Security - Very good chance of passing this session.

HB1819: Suppressor legalization if removed from NFA - Very good chance of passing this session.

HB1911: A.K.A. "Constitutional Carry" - Reported favorably out of house committee. If this can get time on the floor of the House, I think it will pass there and then move on to the Senate where it will likely pass, possibly with some modifications, forcing a conference committee and ultimate passage by Governor Abbot.

SB16: Reduction in LTC Fees - Good chance of passing this session as a similar bill is being considered by the House and has made its way to the Calendar's Committee.

SB263: No caliber requirement for LTC qualification test - Very good chance of passing this session as it has made its way out of the Senate and is currently referred tot the House Homeland Security and Public Safety committee where it should find a receptive audience.

SB1934: Preempts home owners’ associations from regulating firearms or lawful discharge of firearms. - Decent chance of passing. Any reduction of HOA authority is welcome.

There is still a significant amount of time left in this session, so we may see significant movement as usual towards the end of the session. To date, no bill has currently passed both the House and Senate, not even the budget so it is premature to start saying signature bills are dead. I agree that it will be a disappointing session if all we get is no caliber requirement for the LTC qualification test, a reduction in LTC fees and permission to organize volunteer security teams at houses of worship, but I'm hopeful there will be additional goodness if HB1911 can get past the calendar's committee to the floor of the House.