Can someone find this law?

[nightmare69]

When I was in the academy in 2014 we were shown a the text to a law in response to the NFL’s policy banning off-duty LEOs from carrying at Texas Stadium.

The Texas legislator stepped in and basically wrote a law that specifically said that Texas LEOs are never off-duty and can carry virtually anywhere including professional sporting events and theme parks.

I cannot for the life of my find this text and I was hoping a few wise members of this forum could assist me.

All I’m finding is old news articles about NFL’s policy.

[Flightmare]

When I went thru the Citizen's Police Academy in Plano, some of the officers were discussing how at AT&T stadium, they would not let off-duty carry there.

[Mel]

When I was in the academy in 2014 we were shown a the text to a law in response to the NFL’s policy banning off-duty LEOs from carrying at Texas Stadium.
The Texas legislator stepped in and basically wrote a law that specifically said that Texas LEOs are never off-duty and can carry virtually anywhere including professional sporting events and theme parks.
I cannot for the life of my find this text and I was hoping a few wise members of this forum could assist me.
All I’m finding is old news articles about NFL’s policy.

Could this be what you are looking for. It sounds very similar.

The law you are referring to was originally called the The Law Enforcement Officer's Safety Act. The law is sometimes called HR 218 and the official title of the law, due to a recent change, is called The Law Enforcement Officer's Safety Improvement Act.
The law is codified under Title 18, Part I, Chapter 44, Section 926b, "CARRYING OF CONCEALED FIREARMS BY QUALIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS"
The law, in short, allows any law enforcement officer to carry concealed handguns if they have statutory powers of arrest, qualify by their department standards, are not under disciplinary actions, not prohibited from federal law, and are not under the influence of alcohol or hallucinatory drugs or substances. The law enforcement officer must carry their credentials on them while carry a concealed handgun.
There are exceptions to where an law enforcement officer can carry. The places that you cannot carry are in state or local government facilities that restrict carrying (schools, state, city or county offices, and so on), court houses, and private property prohibiting carrying.
With the recent passing of The Law Enforcement Officer Safety Improvement Act law enforcement officers are allowed to carry ammunition that is not expressly restricted by Federal law or the National Firearms Act. So to the best of my knowledge, if there is a state or locality that prohibits Jacket Hollow Point bullets, then the law enforcement officer is exempted from that law.

[Lynyrd]

Is this what you are looking for?

Sec. 46.15. NONAPPLICABILITY.

(a) Sections 46.02 and 46.03 do not apply to:

(1) peace officers or special investigators under Article 2.122, Code of Criminal Procedure, and neither section prohibits a peace officer or special investigator from carrying a weapon in this state, including in an establishment in this state serving the public, regardless of whether the peace officer or special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the officer's or investigator's duties while carrying the weapon;

(2) parole officers and neither section prohibits an officer from carrying a weapon in this state if the officer is:

(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and

(B) in compliance with policies and procedures adopted by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice regarding the possession of a weapon by an officer while on duty;

(3) community supervision and corrections department officers appointed or employed under Section 76.004, Government Code, and neither section prohibits an officer from carrying a weapon in this state if the officer is:

(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and

(B) authorized to carry a weapon under Section 76.0051, Government Code;

(4) an active judicial officer as defined by Section 411.201, Government Code, who is licensed to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code;

(5) an honorably retired peace officer, qualified retired law enforcement officer, federal criminal investigator, or former reserve law enforcement officer who holds a certificate of proficiency issued under Section 1701.357, Occupations Code, and is carrying a photo identification that is issued by a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency, as applicable, and that verifies that the officer is:

(A) an honorably retired peace officer;

(B) a qualified retired law enforcement officer;

(C) a federal criminal investigator; or

(D) a former reserve law enforcement officer who has served in that capacity not less than a total of 15 years with one or more state or local law enforcement agencies;

[ELB]

I did the same internet searching you probably did.

From what I did find it appears to me that the Leg did not create a law in response to the NFL policy, but that existing Texas law did not allow the NFL to implement this policy. In particular, PC 46.15 effectively exempts peace officers from the restrictions contained in 46.02 and 46 .03, and PC 30.05 exempts peace officers from Criminal Trespass if the reason is carrying a handgun. So there is no way to legally prohibit entry to a peace officer because he is carrying a handgun. It appears that as matter of practice at the two NFL facilities in Texas off duty officers who are armed are supposed to register their seating positions with security, but that appears to be a more procedural, security oriented arrangement than a legal requirement.

It does appear that there are states where this is not the case, for example Minnesota where the issue went to court, and off-duty police officers there are not permitted to carry their firearms at NFL games.

ETA: I looked to see if there were any Texas Attorney General opinions on this subject. There are about three dealing with whether off-duty officers can carry at places like race tracks and amusement parks, but they are from the mid 1990s, and I don't think they have any bearing on the issue today. I didn't see anything more recent.

[nightmare69]

Unfortunately the instructor that showed us the text passed away in 2014. LEOSA and PC: 46.15 allows carry but was more a blanket law covering sporting events and theme parks.

After the NFL’s policy the state wrote a short text specifically mentioning theme parks and professional sporting events to make it crystal clear that Texas LEOs cannot be denied entry for being armed.

I don’t think it was in the Penal Code. I just wish I could remember more about where it was located.

[ELB]

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/DocV ... ce+officer

I believe this is it, although it appears it wasn't added until 2017:

CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE


TITLE 1. CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE


CHAPTER 2. GENERAL DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Art. 2.1305. CARRYING WEAPON ON CERTAIN PREMISES. (a) An establishment serving the public may not prohibit or otherwise restrict a peace officer or special investigator from carrying on the establishment's premises a weapon that the peace officer or special investigator is otherwise authorized to carry, regardless of whether the peace officer or special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the officer's or investigator's duties while carrying the weapon.

(b) For purposes of this article:

(1) "Establishment serving the public" means:

(A) a hotel, motel, or other place of lodging;

(B) a restaurant or other place where food is offered for sale to the public;

(C) a retail business or other commercial establishment or an office building to which the general public is invited;

(D) a sports venue; and

(E) any other place of public accommodation, amusement, convenience, or resort to which the general public or any classification of persons from the general public is regularly, normally, or customarily invited.

(2) "Sports venue" means an arena, coliseum, stadium, or other type of area or facility that is primarily used or is planned for primary use for one or more professional or amateur sports or athletics events and for which a fee is charged or is planned to be charged for admission to the sports or athletics events, other than occasional civic, charitable, or promotional events.


Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 124 (H.B. 873), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017.

[ELB]

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/DocV ... ce+officer

I believe this is it, although it appears it wasn't added until 2017:
...

…and continuing with that thought, I wonder it this was added in response to this, which happened in 2016:

Cinemark Theater Manager Threatens To Have Off-Duty Officer Arrested

or, if that, in conjunction with the NFL nonsense, was the final straw.

[nightmare69]

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/DocV ... ce+officer

I believe this is it, although it appears it wasn't added until 2017:

CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE


TITLE 1. CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE


CHAPTER 2. GENERAL DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Art. 2.1305. CARRYING WEAPON ON CERTAIN PREMISES. (a) An establishment serving the public may not prohibit or otherwise restrict a peace officer or special investigator from carrying on the establishment's premises a weapon that the peace officer or special investigator is otherwise authorized to carry, regardless of whether the peace officer or special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the officer's or investigator's duties while carrying the weapon.

(b) For purposes of this article:

(1) "Establishment serving the public" means:

(A) a hotel, motel, or other place of lodging;

(B) a restaurant or other place where food is offered for sale to the public;

(C) a retail business or other commercial establishment or an office building to which the general public is invited;

(D) a sports venue; and

(E) any other place of public accommodation, amusement, convenience, or resort to which the general public or any classification of persons from the general public is regularly, normally, or customarily invited.

(2) "Sports venue" means an arena, coliseum, stadium, or other type of area or facility that is primarily used or is planned for primary use for one or more professional or amateur sports or athletics events and for which a fee is charged or is planned to be charged for admission to the sports or athletics events, other than occasional civic, charitable, or promotional events.


Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 124 (H.B. 873), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017.

This has to be it even though I learned about it in 2014 it may have been revised since then. Thanks a bunch!

[nightmare69]

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/DocV ... ce+officer

I believe this is it, although it appears it wasn't added until 2017:
...

…and continuing with that thought, I wonder it this was added in response to this, which happened in 2016:

Cinemark Theater Manager Threatens To Have Off-Duty Officer Arrested

or, if that, in conjunction with the NFL nonsense, was the final straw.

I remember that story. Funny how it’s titled as the stating the manager somehow has the authority to order police to arrest a fellow off-duty officer. I would have politely asked for a refund and left then go write a nice email to the franchise. The pen is mightier than the sword.

[ELB]

...

This has to be it even though I learned about it in 2014 it may have been revised since then. Thanks a bunch!

It may have been drafted in 2014 for the 2015 Legislature, but I could not find any bills doing so for that legislative session. The Texas Legislature Online has a neat function that lets you see exactly how a given statute was worded on a specific date in the past, and Section 2.1305 doesn't even appear until 01 Sep 2017. It often takes awhile for things to percolate through.

[srothstein]

It may have been drafted in 2014 for the 2015 Legislature, but I could not find any bills doing so for that legislative session. The Texas Legislature Online has a neat function that lets you see exactly how a given statute was worded on a specific date in the past, and Section 2.1305 doesn't even appear until 01 Sep 2017. It often takes awhile for things to percolate through.

It was introduced in 2015 as HB 2298. It looks like it died in the house while on the calendar close to the end of the session. I like the search function on the Legislature On-Line page. You can find a lot of bills if you use the word search and an unusual phrase. I thought "Establishment serving the public" was an unusual enough phrase that I could go through the results list to find it. This bill was the only one that came up.

[srothstein]

When I was in the academy in 2014 we were shown a the text to a law in response to the NFL’s policy banning off-duty LEOs from carrying at Texas Stadium.

The Texas legislator stepped in and basically wrote a law that specifically said that Texas LEOs are never off-duty and can carry virtually anywhere including professional sporting events and theme parks.

While the law you were searching for has been shown to you already, I thought I would point out that there is a very old law that says cops are never off duty. Technically, I guess it would be not off duty while in their jurisdiction.

The Code of Criminal Procedure says police will act in case of crime in their jurisdiction. Note that is does not say anything about on duty or off duty.

Art. 2.13. DUTIES AND POWERS. (a) It is the duty of every peace officer to preserve the peace within the officer's jurisdiction. To effect this purpose, the officer shall use all lawful means.

(b) The officer shall:

(1) in every case authorized by the provisions of this Code, interfere without warrant to prevent or suppress crime;

(2) execute all lawful process issued to the officer by any magistrate or court;

(3) give notice to some magistrate of all offenses committed within the officer's jurisdiction, where the officer has good reason to believe there has been a violation of the penal law; and

(4) arrest offenders without warrant in every case where the officer is authorized by law, in order that they may be taken before the proper magistrate or court and be tried.

(c) It is the duty of every officer to take possession of a child under Article 63.009(g).



Text of subsection as added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 4 (S.B. 4), Sec. 6.01



(d) Subject to Subsection (e), in the course of investigating an alleged criminal offense, a peace officer may inquire as to the nationality or immigration status of a victim of or witness to the offense only if the officer determines that the inquiry is necessary to:

(1) investigate the offense; or

(2) provide the victim or witness with information about federal visas designed to protect individuals providing assistance to law enforcement.



Text of subsection as added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 34 (S.B. 1576), Sec. 3



(d) On a request made by that office, a peace officer shall execute an emergency detention order issued by the Texas Civil Commitment Office under Section 841.0837, Health and Safety Code.

(e) Subsection (d) does not prevent a peace officer from:

(1) conducting a separate investigation of any other alleged criminal offense; or

(2) inquiring as to the nationality or immigration status of a victim of or witness to a criminal offense if the officer has probable cause to believe that the victim or witness has engaged in specific conduct constituting a separate criminal offense.

[bubba84]

When I was in the academy in 2014 we were shown a the text to a law in response to the NFL’s policy banning off-duty LEOs from carrying at Texas Stadium.

The Texas legislator stepped in and basically wrote a law that specifically said that Texas LEOs are never off-duty and can carry virtually anywhere including professional sporting events and theme parks.

While the law you were searching for has been shown to you already, I thought I would point out that there is a very old law that says cops are never off duty. Technically, I guess it would be not off duty while in their jurisdiction.

The Code of Criminal Procedure says police will act in case of crime in their jurisdiction. Note that is does not say anything about on duty or off duty.

Art. 2.13. DUTIES AND POWERS. (a) It is the duty of every peace officer to preserve the peace within the officer's jurisdiction. To effect this purpose, the officer shall use all lawful means.

(b) The officer shall:

(1) in every case authorized by the provisions of this Code, interfere without warrant to prevent or suppress crime;

(2) execute all lawful process issued to the officer by any magistrate or court;

(3) give notice to some magistrate of all offenses committed within the officer's jurisdiction, where the officer has good reason to believe there has been a violation of the penal law; and

(4) arrest offenders without warrant in every case where the officer is authorized by law, in order that they may be taken before the proper magistrate or court and be tried.

(c) It is the duty of every officer to take possession of a child under Article 63.009(g).



Text of subsection as added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 4 (S.B. 4), Sec. 6.01



(d) Subject to Subsection (e), in the course of investigating an alleged criminal offense, a peace officer may inquire as to the nationality or immigration status of a victim of or witness to the offense only if the officer determines that the inquiry is necessary to:

(1) investigate the offense; or

(2) provide the victim or witness with information about federal visas designed to protect individuals providing assistance to law enforcement.



Text of subsection as added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 34 (S.B. 1576), Sec. 3



(d) On a request made by that office, a peace officer shall execute an emergency detention order issued by the Texas Civil Commitment Office under Section 841.0837, Health and Safety Code.

(e) Subsection (d) does not prevent a peace officer from:

(1) conducting a separate investigation of any other alleged criminal offense; or

(2) inquiring as to the nationality or immigration status of a victim of or witness to a criminal offense if the officer has probable cause to believe that the victim or witness has engaged in specific conduct constituting a separate criminal offense.

Peace officers are certified by the state and employed by agencies or entities. Regardless of the name thats on their paycheck, they are Texas peace officers. They all have statewide authority, some however, (we were in plano when I was there) bound by policy of the employee agency to act only in certain cases. Plano only allows by policy an Officer acting officially off duty outside the city limits if a felony is committed in their presence.

[Grumpy1993]

I wonder if people who parrot "Texas respects private property rights" really believe that whopper or if they're just Bonnen-fide liars.