84R5909 JSC-D
	By: Hall	S.B. No. 718

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to a permit to show that a person has passed a background
	check to possess a firearm; authorizing fees.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 411, Government Code, is amended by
	adding Subchapter H-1 to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER H-1. FIREARM PURCHASER PERMIT
	Sec. 411.221.  ELIGIBILITY. A person is eligible for a
	firearm purchaser permit if the department determines that the
	person is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under the Brady
	Handgun Violence Prevention Act, 18 U.S.C. Section 922, other
	federal law, or state law.
	Sec. 411.222.  APPLICATION. (a) A person may apply for a
	firearm purchaser permit by submitting to the department an
	application and any other information and materials required by the
	department as necessary to determine if the person is prohibited by
	law from possessing a firearm.
	(b)  The department by rule shall prescribe the form of the
	application and the necessary information and materials. The
	department shall require the submission of fingerprint records as
	necessary to conduct a federal criminal background check.
	(c)  The department by rule may establish a fee for an
	applicant in an amount sufficient to cover the administrative costs
	of issuing a permit.
	Sec. 411.223.  REVIEW OF APPLICATION MATERIALS. (a) On
	receipt of application materials, the department shall:
	(1)  conduct a criminal history record check of the
	applicant through its computerized criminal history system;
	(2)  perform a search of the National Crime Information
	Center database and the Interstate Identification Index maintained
	by the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
	(3)  send a fingerprint card to the Federal Bureau of
	Investigation for a national criminal history record check of the
	applicant; and
	(4)  forward the application materials to the
	director's designee in the geographical area of the applicant's
	residence to enable the designee to conduct the investigation
	described by Subsection (b).
	(b)  The director's designee shall conduct an additional
	criminal history record check of the applicant and an investigation
	of the applicant's local official records to verify the accuracy of
	the application materials.  The director's designee may access any
	records necessary for purposes of this subsection.  On completion
	of the investigation, the director's designee shall return all
	materials and disclose the result of the investigation to the
	appropriate division of the department.
	(c)  The department may conduct any additional investigation
	that the department considers necessary to verify the accuracy of
	the application materials or criminal history record information of
	the applicant.
	Sec. 411.224.  ISSUANCE OR DENIAL OF PERMIT. (a)  The
	department shall issue a firearm purchaser permit to an applicant
	if the applicant meets all the eligibility requirements and submits
	all the application materials.
	(b)  The department shall, not later than the 60th day after
	the date of the receipt of the application:
	(1)  issue the permit;
	(2)  notify the applicant in writing that the
	application was denied on the grounds that the applicant is not
	permitted by law to possess a firearm; or
	(3)  notify the applicant in writing that the
	department is unable to make a determination regarding the issuance
	or denial of a permit to the applicant within the 60-day period
	prescribed by this subsection and include in that notification an
	explanation of the reason for that inability and an estimation of
	the additional period that the department will need to make the
	determination.
	(c)  Failure of the department to issue or deny a permit for a
	period of more than 30 days after the department is required to act
	under Subsection (b) constitutes denial.
	(d)  A permit issued under this subchapter is effective from
	the date of issuance.
	Sec. 411.225.  FORM OF PERMIT. The department by rule shall
	adopt the form of the permit.
	Sec. 411.226.  DUPLICATE PERMIT. (a)  If a permit is lost,
	stolen, or destroyed, the permit holder may apply for a duplicate
	permit.
	(b)  A permit holder may change the permit holder's legal
	name or address on the permit by submitting an application for a
	duplicate permit.
	(c)  The department by rule shall adopt a fee for the
	issuance of duplicate permits under this section.
	Sec. 411.227.  EXPIRATION. (a) A permit issued under this
	subchapter expires on the permit holder's first birthday occurring
	after the fourth anniversary of the date of issuance.
	(b)  A renewed permit expires on the permit holder's
	birthdate, five years after the date of the expiration of the
	previous permit.
	(c)  A duplicate permit expires on the date the original
	permit would have expired.
	Sec. 411.228.  PERMIT RENEWAL. (a) To renew a permit, the
	permit holder must submit to the department:
	(1)  an application for renewal on a form provided by
	the department;
	(2)  payment of a renewal fee set by the department in
	an amount to cover the costs of permit renewal; and
	(3)  any other information or materials the department
	requires to determine whether the person continues to meet the
	requirements for the permit.
	(b)  The department shall:
	(1)  verify the information contained in the renewal
	application form; and
	(2)  conduct any necessary investigation concerning
	the permit holder's continued eligibility to possess a firearm
	under federal and state law.
	(c)  The department shall renew the permit of a permit holder
	who meets all the eligibility requirements to continue to hold a
	permit and submits all the required renewal materials. Not later
	than the 45th day after receipt of the renewal materials, the
	department shall issue the renewed permit or notify the permit
	holder in writing that the department has denied the permit
	holder's renewal application.
	(d)  The director by rule shall adopt a procedure by which a
	permit holder who satisfies the eligibility requirements to
	continue to hold a permit may submit the renewal materials by mail
	or on the Internet.
	Sec. 411.229.  REVOCATION. The department shall revoke a
	permit under this section if the permit holder:
	(1)  was not eligible for the permit at the time the
	permit was issued;
	(2)  made a material misrepresentation or failed to
	disclose a material fact in an application submitted under this
	subchapter;
	(3)  subsequently becomes ineligible for a permit; or
	(4)  submits an application fee that is dishonored or
	reversed, if the applicant fails to submit a cashier's check or
	money order made payable to the "Department of Public Safety of the
	State of Texas" in the amount of the dishonored or reversed fee,
	plus $25, before the 30th day after the date of receipt of notice
	from the department that the fee was dishonored or reversed.
	Sec. 411.230. (a) The director shall adopt rules to
	administer this subchapter.
	(b)  In adopting rules, the director shall conform the
	permitting requirements to the requirements under the Brady Handgun
	Violence Prevention Act, 18 U.S.C. Section 922, for state permits
	that qualify as alternatives to the background check provision of
	that law.
	SECTION 2.  (a) The Department of Public Safety shall adopt
	rules to implement Subchapter H-1, Chapter 411, Government Code, as
	added by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective date
	of this Act.
	(b)  This Act may be implemented only if the firearm
	purchaser permit, as added by this Act, is recognized by the Bureau
	of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as an alternative to
	the background check requirement of the Brady Handgun Violence
	Prevention Act, 18 U.S.C. Section 922. The Department of Public
	Safety shall apply to the federal government for recognition and
	may delay implementation until the recognition is granted.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.