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               A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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               AN ACT
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            relating to the possession of a weapon in certain locations of a  | 
         
         
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            government court. | 
         
         
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                   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | 
         
         
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                   SECTION 1.  Section 46.03(a), Penal Code, is amended to read  | 
         
         
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            as follows: | 
         
         
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                   (a)  A person commits an offense if the person intentionally,  | 
         
         
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            knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm,  | 
         
         
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            location-restricted knife, club, or prohibited weapon listed in  | 
         
         
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            Section 46.05(a): | 
         
         
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                         (1)  on the physical premises of a school or  | 
         
         
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            educational institution, any grounds or building on which an  | 
         
         
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            activity sponsored by a school or educational institution is being  | 
         
         
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            conducted, or a passenger transportation vehicle of a school or  | 
         
         
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            educational institution, whether the school or educational  | 
         
         
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            institution is public or private, unless: | 
         
         
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                               (A)  pursuant to written regulations or written  | 
         
         
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            authorization of the institution; or | 
         
         
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                               (B)  the person possesses or goes with a concealed  | 
         
         
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            handgun that the person is licensed to carry under Subchapter H,  | 
         
         
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            Chapter 411, Government Code, and no other weapon to which this  | 
         
         
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            section applies, on the premises of an institution of higher  | 
         
         
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            education or private or independent institution of higher  | 
         
         
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            education, on any grounds or building on which an activity  | 
         
         
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            sponsored by the institution is being conducted, or in a passenger  | 
         
         
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            transportation vehicle of the institution; | 
         
         
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                         (2)  on the premises of a polling place on the day of an  | 
         
         
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            election or while early voting is in progress; | 
         
         
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                         (3)  [on the premises of any government court or  | 
         
         
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            offices utilized by the court,] unless pursuant to written  | 
         
         
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            regulations or written authorization of the applicable government | 
         
         
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            court, in: | 
         
         
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                               (A)  a courtroom or other room in which a judicial  | 
         
         
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            proceeding is being held;  | 
         
         
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                               (B)  a jury room; | 
         
         
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                               (C)  a judge's chambers; or | 
         
         
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                               (D)  the office of a member of a judge's staff; | 
         
         
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                         (4)  on the premises of a racetrack; | 
         
         
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                         (5)  in or into a secured area of an airport; | 
         
         
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                         (6)  within 1,000 feet of premises the location of  | 
         
         
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            which is designated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a  | 
         
         
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            place of execution under Article 43.19, Code of Criminal Procedure,  | 
         
         
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            on a day that a sentence of death is set to be imposed on the  | 
         
         
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            designated premises and the person received notice that: | 
         
         
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                               (A)  going within 1,000 feet of the premises with  | 
         
         
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            a weapon listed under this subsection was prohibited; or | 
         
         
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                               (B)  possessing a weapon listed under this  | 
         
         
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            subsection within 1,000 feet of the premises was prohibited; | 
         
         
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                         (7)  on the premises of a business that has a permit or  | 
         
         
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            license issued under Chapter 25, 28, 32, 69, or 74, Alcoholic  | 
         
         
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            Beverage Code, if the business derives 51 percent or more of its  | 
         
         
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            income from the sale or service of alcoholic beverages for  | 
         
         
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            on-premises consumption, as determined by the Texas Alcoholic  | 
         
         
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            Beverage Commission under Section 104.06, Alcoholic Beverage Code; | 
         
         
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                         (8)  on the premises where a high school, collegiate,  | 
         
         
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            or professional sporting event or interscholastic event is taking  | 
         
         
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            place, unless the person is a participant in the event and a  | 
         
         
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            firearm, location-restricted knife, club, or prohibited weapon  | 
         
         
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            listed in Section 46.05(a) is used in the event; | 
         
         
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                         (9)  on the premises of a correctional facility; | 
         
         
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                         (10)  on the premises of a civil commitment facility; | 
         
         
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                         (11)  on the premises of a hospital licensed under  | 
         
         
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            Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code, or on the premises of a nursing  | 
         
         
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            facility licensed under Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, unless  | 
         
         
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            the person has written authorization of the hospital or nursing  | 
         
         
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            facility administration, as appropriate; | 
         
         
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                         (12)  on the premises of a mental hospital, as defined  | 
         
         
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            by Section 571.003, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has  | 
         
         
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            written authorization of the mental hospital administration; | 
         
         
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                         (13)  in an amusement park; or | 
         
         
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                         (14)  in the room or rooms where a meeting of a  | 
         
         
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            governmental entity is held, if the meeting is an open meeting  | 
         
         
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            subject to Chapter 551, Government Code, and if the entity provided  | 
         
         
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            notice as required by that chapter. | 
         
         
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                   SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only  | 
         
         
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            to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.  | 
         
         
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            An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is  | 
         
         
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            governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,  | 
         
         
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            and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For  | 
         
         
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            purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the  | 
         
         
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            effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was  | 
         
         
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            committed before that date. | 
         
         
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                   SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |