HB 910 (Phillips/Estes) authorizes openly carrying holstered handguns in Texas. The legislation makes no changes to the places where handguns are prohibited such as schools, hospitals, professional sporting events, and others. The word “concealed” was struck throughout various parts of code effectively allowing the carrying of handguns either concealed or not concealed. The legislation does require that if a handgun is carried openly it must be carried in a holster. Provisions in the bill allow entities to post a sign that would prevent the public from entering with an openly carried handgun. A provision was also added to the bill making it clear that openly carrying a handgun on a college campus is prohibited. The bill was signed by the Governor June 13, 2015 and becomes effective January 1, 2016.
SB 11 (Birdwell/Fletcher) authorizes the licensed carrying of concealed handguns on the campuses of public, private and independent institutions of higher education in Texas. Many students will still be prohibited from carrying concealed weapons on campus due to the 21 year age requirement for obtaining a handgun license. The legislation includes a provision allowing university leadership to adopt rules, with approval of the governing body of the school, regarding where on campus handguns will and will not be allowed. Rules may not have the general effect of prohibiting license holders from carrying handguns on the entire campus. Private and independent institutions, however, will have the option of whether or not they will allow concealed carrying on their campuses. The bill does not pertain to public junior colleges in the state. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 13, 2015 and becomes effective August 1, 2016.
SB 273 (Campbell/Guillen) prohibits state agencies and political subdivisions from posting signs prohibiting a person from carrying a concealed handgun on their premises. Certain locations where people are currently prohibited from carrying including schools, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and others will keep their prohibition. The bill includes a provision prohibiting a person from carrying a handgun into a room where an open meeting is being held by a governmental entity. The bill was signed by the Governor June 16, 2015 and becomes effective September 1, 2015.