Campus carry opinion sought"

[stash]

There is an interesting article on page B1 of statesman.com (Austin newspaper) dated today (11/20/2015). It is captioned as set out above in the subject line. I am sad to admit that unfortunately I do not have the mechanical skills to bring it to this forum from the newspaper. The opinion is requested by the bill author. The article is not derogatory toward the author. If anyone wants to do it some members may like to read it. Seems a little late to me but who knows. I did check here and could not find it.

[J.R.@A&M]

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/se ... n-l/npQ7Y/

[stash]

Thanks J. R.

[ELB]

I can't find a way to link directly to Senator Birdwell's letter requesting an opinion (it is a .pdf), but if you are interested I can tell you how to find it:

Go to this page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/op ... pinion-rqs

You will see a box with a drop-down list and the following text:
-------------------
2015
RQ-0001-KP to
present
-------------------

From that drop-down list, select RQ-0076-KP. Right now that is the last one (at the bottom) on the list.

A .pdf document will open with Sen Birdwell's letter in it.

[ELB]

Here are the questions that Senator Birdwell is asking the AG to opine on. Note that the letter provide quite a bit of background information; to fully understand the questions, you should read the whole thing.

With this background, I respectfully request an opinion concerning the questions set out below.

QUESTION 1:
If a public College designates a meaningful number of classrooms as areas in which the possession of
concealed handguns by Licensees is not allowed, has the College violated that provision in the Act that
states "[t]he president or officer may not establish provisions that generally prohibit or have the effect
of generally prohibiting license holders from carrying concealed handguns on the campus of the
institution[?]"

QUESTION 2:
If a public College allows individual professors to designate their classrooms as areas in which the
possession of concealed handguns by Licensees is not allowed, has the College violated that provision in
the Act that states "[t]he president or officer may not establish provisions that generally prohibit or
have the effect of generally prohibiting license holders from carrying concealed handguns on the
campus of the institution[?]"

QUESTION 3:
If the rules established by a public College relating to College dormitories and/or other college-owned or
leased residential housing go beyond reasonable storage requirements and prohibit or effectively
prohibit the possession of handguns in those locations, has the College violated the Act?

QUESTION 4:
If, on a temporary basis, a College prohibits the carrying of handguns by Licensees on all or most of the
campus, has. the College violated the portion of the Act that prohibits a College from establishing rules
"that generally prohibit or have the effect of generally prohibiting license holders from carrying
concealed handguns on the campus of the institution[?]"

QUESTION 4.1:
If, on a temporary basis, a College prohibits the carrying of handguns by Licensees on certain portions
of the campus, has the College violated the portion of the Act that requires Colleges to "widely distribute
the rules, regulations, or other provisions described by Subsection (d-1) to the institution's students,
staff, and/acuity, including by prominently publishing the provisions on the institutions' Internet
website[?]"

QUESTION 5:
If a Licensee reasonably believes that a public College has exceeded its authority granted under the Act,
or that it has taken regulatory action without meeting the procedural requirements of the Act, does the
Licensee have standing to bring an action?

QUESTION 6:
If the answer to Questions 1, 2, 3 or 4 is in the affirmative, does the newly created offense found in TEX.
PENAL CODE Ann. §46.035(a-3) apply to a Licensee carrying a concealed handgun, in spite of the public
College's failure to comply with the Act?

[J.R.@A&M]

Thanks J. R.

You're welcome, sir.

[stash]

Thanks ELB - very interesting letter and good points that Sen Birdwell sets out. Sen. Birdwell may just be getting ahead of the game, i.e. having the AG's opinion in advance of a institution attempting to do something that does not square with the law.

[JALLEN]

I'm not sure the AG is obliged to give an opinion. I'm pretty sure any such opinion is not binding, except maybe on state agencies. An opinion might be persuasive in courts in some circumstances, but not binding.

[TexasJohnBoy]

Aren't most public colleges considered state agencies?

[JALLEN]

Aren't most public colleges considered state agencies?

I don't think so. Not in the same category as the Supreme Court, DPS, DOT, the other bureaus. The Texas State Archives and Library Commission has a website which purports to list all Texas State Agencies. I did not find the universities listed there.

[TexasJohnBoy]

Aren't most public colleges considered state agencies?

I don't think so. Not in the same category as the Supreme Court, DPS, DOT, the other bureaus. The Texas State Archives and Library Commission has a website which purports to list all Texas State Agencies. I did not find the universities listed there.

Thanks for clarification

[JALLEN]

Aren't most public colleges considered state agencies?

Even if they were I don't think it'd be binding. The AG is the chief prosecutor of the state. It would appear to function more as guideline for district attorneys' offices than it would really anything else. Of course, I could be completely wrong, too.

The AG is the chief legal officer of the state, with a great many responsibilities and functions, including advising state agencies. AG opinions are followed by state agencies and ordinarily persuasive at other entities, as they are usually carefully prepared by experienced professionals. Every now and then, a case will come along and the AG's opinion is not followed by the courts. Not often.

I don't believe the AG supervises DAs, not directly anyway. The DAs are independently elected and responsible on their own.