By: White	H.B. No. 1499

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the carrying of a handgun by certain first responders
	and volunteer emergency services personnel.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Title 5, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
	amended by adding Chapter 112 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 112.  LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR GOVERNMENTAL UNITS
	Sec. 112.001.  CERTAIN ACTIONS OF VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY
	SERVICES PERSONNEL.  (a)  In this section:
	(1)  "Governmental unit" has the meaning assigned by
	Section 101.001.
	(2)  "Volunteer emergency services personnel" includes
	a volunteer firefighter, an emergency medical services volunteer as
	defined by Section 773.003, Health and Safety Code, and an
	individual who, as a volunteer, provides services for the benefit
	of the general public during emergency situations.
	(b)  A governmental unit is not liable in a civil action
	arising from the discharge of a handgun by an individual who is
	volunteer emergency services personnel and licensed to carry a
	handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code.
	(c)  The discharge of a handgun by an individual who is
	volunteer emergency services personnel and licensed to carry a
	handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
	outside the course and scope of the individual's duties as
	volunteer emergency services personnel.
	(d)  This section may not be construed to waive the immunity
	from suit or liability of a governmental unit under Chapter 101 or
	any other law.
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
	amended by adding Section 411.184 to read as follows:
	Sec. 411.184.  ON-DUTY FIRST RESPONDER TRAINING COURSE.  (a)
	In this section, "first responder" means a public safety employee
	or volunteer whose duties include responding rapidly to an
	emergency.  The term includes fire protection personnel, including
	volunteer firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel,
	including emergency medical services volunteers.  The term does not
	include commissioned law enforcement personnel.
	(b)  The director by rule shall establish minimum standards
	for a training course that a first responder who is a license holder
	may complete to receive a certification of completion from the
	department under this section.  The training course must:
	(1)  be administered by a qualified handgun instructor;
	(2)  include not more than 20 hours of instruction;
	(3)  provide classroom training in:
	(A)  self-defense;
	(B)  de-escalation techniques;
	(C)  tactical thinking relating to cover for and
	concealment of the license holder;
	(D)  methods to conceal a handgun and methods to
	ensure the secure carrying of the concealed handgun; and
	(E)  consequences of improper use of a handgun;
	(4)  provide field instruction in the use of handguns,
	including:
	(A)  instinctive or reactive shooting;
	(B)  tactical shooting;
	(C)  shooting while moving; and
	(E)  shooting in low light conditions;
	(5)  require physical demonstrations of proficiency in
	techniques learned in training; and
	(6)  provide procedures for securing a handgun if the
	first responder, while on duty, is required to enter a location
	where carrying the handgun is prohibited by federal law or
	otherwise.
	(c)  A first responder is responsible for paying to the
	course provider the costs of the training course under this
	section.
	(d)  The director by rule shall approve devices to enable a
	first responder to secure a handgun if the first responder, while on
	duty, is required to enter a location where carrying the handgun is
	prohibited by federal law or otherwise.
	(e)  The department shall issue a certificate of completion
	to a first responder who completes the training course described by
	Subsection (b).
	(f)  A governmental entity that employs or otherwise
	supervises first responders may not adopt a rule or regulation that
	prohibits a first responder who holds a license to carry a handgun
	under this subchapter and who has received a certificate of
	completion from the department under Subsection (e) from:
	(1)  carrying a concealed handgun while on duty; or
	(2)  storing a handgun on the premises of or in a
	vehicle owned or operated by the governmental entity if the handgun
	is secured with a device approved by the department under
	Subsection (d).
	(g)  A first responder may discharge a handgun while on duty
	only in self-defense.
	(h)  This section does not create a cause of action or
	liability.
	(i)  A governmental entity that employs or otherwise
	supervises first responders is not liable in a civil action arising
	from the discharge of a handgun by a first responder who is licensed
	to carry a handgun under this subchapter.
	(j)  The discharge of a handgun by a first responder who is
	licensed to carry a handgun under this subchapter is outside the
	course and scope of the first responder's duties.
	(k)  This section may not be construed to waive the immunity
	from suit or liability of a governmental entity that employs or
	otherwise supervises first responders under Chapter 101, Civil
	Practice and Remedies Code, or any other law.
	SECTION 3.  Section 46.035(h-1), Penal Code, as added by
	Chapter 1222 (H.B. 2300), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular
	Session, 2007, is amended to read as follows:
	(h-1)  It is a defense to prosecution under Subsections
	(b)(1), (2), (4), (5), and (6) [(4)-(6),] and (c) that at the time
	of the commission of the offense, the actor was:
	(1)  a judge or justice of a federal court;
	(2)  an active judicial officer, as defined by Section
	411.201, Government Code; [or]
	(3)  a district attorney, assistant district attorney,
	criminal district attorney, assistant criminal district attorney,
	county attorney, or assistant county attorney; or
	(4)  a first responder who:
	(A)  was carrying a concealed handgun and held a
	license to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
	Government Code;
	(B)  has received a certificate of completion for
	a training course under Section 411.184, Government Code; and
	(C)  was engaged in the actual discharge of the
	first responder's duties while carrying the handgun.
	SECTION 4.  Section 46.15(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	(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;
	(6)  a district attorney, criminal district attorney,
	county attorney, or municipal attorney who is licensed to carry a
	handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code;
	(7)  an assistant district attorney, assistant
	criminal district attorney, or assistant county attorney who is
	licensed to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
	Government Code;
	(8)  a bailiff designated by an active judicial officer
	as defined by Section 411.201, Government Code, who is:
	(A)  licensed to carry a handgun under Subchapter
	H, Chapter 411, Government Code; and
	(B)  engaged in escorting the judicial officer;
	[or]
	(9)  a juvenile probation officer who is authorized to
	carry a firearm under Section 142.006, Human Resources Code; or
	(10)  a first responder who:
	(A)  is carrying a concealed handgun and holds a
	license to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
	Government Code;
	(B)  has received a certificate of completion for
	a training course under Section 411.184, Government Code; and
	(C)  is engaged in the actual discharge of the
	first responder's duties while carrying the handgun.
	SECTION 5.  The public safety director of the Department of
	Public Safety shall adopt the rules necessary to implement Section
	411.184, Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than
	December 1, 2021.
	SECTION 6.  A qualified handgun instructor may not offer the
	training course described by Section 411.184(b), Government Code,
	as added by this Act, before January 1, 2022.
	SECTION 7.  Chapter 112, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
	as added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues
	on or after the effective date of this Act.  A cause of action that
	accrued before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
	applicable to the cause of action immediately before the effective
	date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
	purpose.
	SECTION 8.  The change in law made by this Act in amending
	Sections 46.035 and 46.15, Penal Code, applies only to an offense
	committed on or after January 1, 2022.  An offense committed before
	January 1, 2022, is governed by the law in effect on the date the
	offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for
	that purpose.  For purposes of this section, an offense was
	committed before January 1, 2022, if any element of the offense
	occurred before that date.
	SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.