You refer to being a "resident," but that is not the operative language in either HB481 or Lon Burnam's HB383. Both Bills apply to a Texas domiciliary and that is far different from a mere resident. Tex. Trans. Code §522.003(10) reads "'Domicile' means the place where a person has the person's true, fixed, and permanent home and principal residence and to which the person intends to return whenever absent." Unlike your example, one could be absent from Texas for many years, yet still be a domiciliary of Texas. Lawyers have a saying to help people understand the difference between a "resident" and a "domiciliary." "Your residence is where your butt is, and your domicile is where your heart is." Your intent controls when dealing with your domicile.JP171 wrote:Actually just owning a home in a state does not make you a resident of that state or country, if you abandon your previous residence then you are a resident of the state in which you now reside, but not a citizen of another country. the hassles and headaches would be there no matter the CHL, so again doesn't wash, try moving to another country where there is no CHL, you made the choice live with it or don't move
if you maintain your permanent residence in Florida this law has no effect upon your license, if you sell your home in FL. and become a TX. Resident/citizen the be upstanding and not do an end run around the law that is codified by the USSC.
Here are just a few people negatively impacted by these bills: Texas military personnel stationed in other states, students living out of state for years, construction workers and others whose employment require them to live in other states for extended periods of time. If these people live in a state that requires them to get that state's license (either as a requirement or due to a lack of reciprocity with Texas), then these bills would require them to get two licenses -- Texas and the other state. If these people cannot get back to Texas to take the renewal class, then they simply cannot get or renew a Texas CHL.
So neither HB383 nor SB481 solve a problem, but they certainly would create problems for thousands of Texans.
Also, as already noted, this bill is a "fix" desperately seeking a problem when there is none. There is no rash of armed visitors from Utah, Florida, or any other state committing crimes in Texas. The Texas Constitution (Art. I, Sec. 23) grants the Legislature the power to regulate the wearing of arms, but only with an eye toward crime prevention. SB481/HB383 have nothing to do with crime prevention. The authors never mentioned crime prevention as a motive when they were laying out their respective bills. They didn't even claim to be solving a problem. Rather, they just said "it makes sense." Now that sounds familiar!
Chas.