CHL Improvements in DPS Sunset Bill

[Charles L. Cotton]

HB2730 is the DPS sunset bill that just passed this evening. The bill is over 300 pages long and covers a multitude of subjects and laws. When it was clear some of our lower profile bills were not going to pass, it was decided to try to add their provisions to HB2730. We even included some provisions from my DPS streamlining bill that wasn't even introduced.

Here is a short summary of the changes related to CHLs:

• No more TR-100s! (Instructors will love this, but it will also help CHLs);
  Instructors will only have to go to Austin to renew their certification every four years, and they can renew on the Internet in between;
  All application materials will be available on the Internet;
  Delinquent school loans are no longer disqualifying for a CHL;
  Any conviction that was set aside, voided, or any any manner invalidated will no longer be a "conviction" for CHL purposes;
  In order to be disqualifying for CHL purposes, a "conviction" must be classified as a felony both at the time it was committed and at the time of application for a CHL;
  The duty to display your CHL when asked for ID remains, but the penalty for not doing so is repealed.

These items are not front page news, but they are significant to CHLs and instructors.

Alice Tripp and our very good friends in Austin worked hard to make this happen, as did many of their staff.

Chas.

Edited to reflect changes in the published bill.

[boomerang]

Thanks Charles!

I remember the house version removed the penalty for not displaying a CHL. Did the final version?

[KD5NRH]

HB2730 is the DPS sunset bill that just passed this evening. The bill is over 300 pages long and covers a multitude of subjects and laws.

300 pages, and you couldn't squeeze in one line about having the DPS higher-ups waterboarded every time a CHL app goes past the deadline?

[AEA]

Too bad they couldn't sneak in a stimulus program for every CHL holder to supplement ammo costs!

[Locksmith]

No longer valid

[KD5NRH]

Too bad they couldn't sneak in a stimulus program for every CHL holder to supplement ammo costs!

Or make all CHL holders some obscure form of inspector or slip something into all the Division of Emergency Management changes allowing us to carry everywhere.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Thanks Charles!

I remember the house version removed the penalty for not displaying a CHL. Did the final version?

No, that was stripped in the conference committee.

Chas.

[boomerang]

No, that was stripped in the conference committee.

It's nice to see they made some improvements around administrative and eligibility issues but I'm disappointed the antigunners are so strong in Texas that they were able to kill the bills that would improve things for current CHLs day to day. Work parking lots. Notification. Campus carry.

I guess the only thing to do now is campaign against incumbents. And encourage people to vote with their wallets by getting nonresident licenses.

[Crossfire]

No more TR-100s! (Instructors will love this, but it will also help CHLs);
Instructors will only have to go to Austin to renew their certification every four years, and they can renew on the Internet in between;
All application materials will be available on the Internet;
Delinquent taxes or fees collected by the Texas Comptroller are no longer disqualifying for a CHL;
Delinquent school loans are no longer disqualifying for a CHL;
Any conviction that was set aside, voided, or any any manner invalidated will no longer be a "conviction" for CHL purposes;
In order to be disqualifying for CHL purposes, a "conviction" must be classified as a felony both at the time it was committed and at the time of application for a CHL;

This is all such great news for instructors and new applicants!! These are exactly the reasons I became a Utah instructor. Now I am considering whether to renew my Utah instructor permit...

[Charles L. Cotton]

Note my edit to the original post. I'm trying to resolve the conflict.

Chas.

[aardwolf]

We made some small gains but lost the big issues. Is this how it feels to win the bronze medal in the olympics?

Thanks to everyone who worked on civil rights issues this session. Thanks to Chas and Alice and others working directly with the legislators. Thanks to citizens calling and faxing their representatives to encourage them to do the right thing. Thanks to people encouraging their friends and neighbors to contact their representatives. Keep the faith and remember in November!

[jbirds1210]

Alice Tripp and our very good friends in Austin worked hard to make this happen, as did many of their staff.

Thank you for your work. We really do appreciate it.

Jason

[Charles L. Cotton]

Note my edit to the original post. I'm trying to resolve the conflict.

Chas.

Here is an update on HB2730. As I noted, there is a conflict between between the "mark-up" copy of the bill and the comparison chart generated as a result of the conference committee agreement. The only two conflicts of any import deal with the eligibility requirement of "no delinquent taxes/fees" and the duty to display your CHL when asked for ID by a LEO. Unfortunately, regardless which document is accurate, we will lose one of these provisions.

According to the "mark-up" copy, there is no change to the duty to display a CHL, but the taxes/fees eligibility requirement is gone. In the comparison chart, the "school loans" requirement was deleted, but the "no delinquent taxes/fees" requirement remains. The comparison chart also shows that the duty to display a CHL remains, but the penalty (suspension/Class B misdemeanor) is repealed. In short, the duty to display would remain, but there would be no penalty for not doing so.

I'm trying to find out which document is correct.

Chas.

[boomerang]

According to the analysis pdf here http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/ ... 02730A.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (see Page 195) it Looks like it didn't make it.

Is the third column (conference) supposed to be blank?

[Skiprr]

Alice Tripp and our very good friends in Austin worked hard to make this happen, as did many of their staff.

As did you.

Our thanks and continued appreciation.