Bill Text: TX HB1487 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the removal of a fee for the issuance of an original, duplicate, modified, or renewed license to carry a handgun.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-12-02 - Filed [HB1487 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB1487-Introduced.html

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By: Louderback H.B. No. 1487

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the removal of a fee for the issuance of an original,
duplicate, modified, or renewed license to carry a handgun.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 411.0625(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The department shall adopt rules to establish a
procedure by which a resident of the state may apply for and be
issued a Capitol access pass. Rules adopted under this section must
include provisions for eligibility, application, approval,
issuance, and renewal that:
(1) require the department to conduct the same
background check on an applicant for a Capitol access pass that is
conducted on an applicant for a license to carry a handgun under
Subchapter H;
(2) enable the department to conduct the background
check described by Subdivision (1); and
(3) establish application and renewal fees in amounts
sufficient to cover the cost of administering this section[, not to
exceed the amounts of similar fees required under Section 411.174
for a license to carry a handgun].
SECTION 2. Section 411.173(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The department by rule shall establish a procedure for a
person who meets the eligibility requirements of this subchapter
other than the residency requirement established by Section
411.172(a)(1) to obtain a license under this subchapter if the
person is a legal resident of another state or if the person
relocates to this state with the intent to establish residency in
this state. [The procedure must include payment of a fee in an
amount sufficient to recover the average cost to the department of
obtaining a criminal history record check and investigation on a
nonresident applicant.] A license issued in accordance with the
procedure established under this subsection:
(1) remains in effect until the license expires under
Section 411.183; and
(2) may be renewed under Section 411.185.
SECTION 3. Section 411.174(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) An applicant for a license to carry a handgun must
submit to the director's designee described by Section 411.176:
(1) a completed application on a form provided by the
department that requires only the information listed in Subsection
(b);
(2) one or more photographs of the applicant that meet
the requirements of the department;
(3) a certified copy of the applicant's birth
certificate or certified proof of age;
(4) proof of residency in this state;
(5) two complete sets of legible and classifiable
fingerprints of the applicant taken by a person appropriately
trained in recording fingerprints who is employed by a law
enforcement agency or by a private entity designated by a law
enforcement agency as an entity qualified to take fingerprints of
an applicant for a license under this subchapter;
(6) [a nonrefundable application and license fee of
$40 paid to the department];
[(7)] evidence of handgun proficiency, in the form and
manner required by the department;
(7) [(8)] an affidavit signed by the applicant stating
that the applicant:
(A) has read and understands each provision of
this subchapter that creates an offense under the laws of this state
and each provision of the laws of this state related to use of
deadly force; and
(B) fulfills all the eligibility requirements
listed under Section 411.172; and
(8) [(9)] a form executed by the applicant that
authorizes the director to make an inquiry into any noncriminal
history records that are necessary to determine the applicant's
eligibility for a license under Section 411.172(a).
SECTION 4. Section 411.179, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
follows:
(e) [In this subsection, "veteran" has the meaning assigned
by Section 411.1951.] The department shall include the designation
"VETERAN" on the face of any original, duplicate, modified, or
renewed license under this subchapter or on the reverse side of the
license, as determined by the department, if the license is issued
to a veteran who:
(1) requests the designation; and
(2) provides proof sufficient to the department of the
veteran's military service and honorable discharge.
(f) For purposes of Subsection (e), "veteran" means a person
who:
(1) has served in:
(A) the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or
marine corps of the United States;
(B) the Texas military forces as defined by
Section 437.001; or
(C) an auxiliary service of one of those branches
of the armed forces; and
(2) has been honorably discharged from the branch of
the service in which the person served.
SECTION 5. Section 411.181(h), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(h) If a license holder is required under this section to
apply for a duplicate license and the license expires not later than
the 60th day after the date of the loss, theft, or destruction of
the license, the applicant may renew the license with the modified
information included on the new license. [The applicant must pay
only the nonrefundable renewal fee.]
SECTION 6. Section 411.185(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) To renew a license, a license holder must, on or before
the date the license expires, submit to the department by mail or,
in accordance with the procedure adopted under Subsection (f), on
the Internet:
(1) a renewal application on a form provided by the
department;
[(2) payment of a nonrefundable renewal fee of $40;]
and
(2) [(3)] the informational form described by
Subsection (c) signed or electronically acknowledged by the
applicant.
SECTION 7. Sections 411.186(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The department shall revoke a license under this section
if the license holder:
(1) was not entitled to the license at the time it 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 license
under Section 411.172, unless the sole basis for the ineligibility
is that the license holder is charged with the commission of a Class
A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense, or of an offense
under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense, or of a
felony under an information or indictment; or
(4) is determined by the department to have engaged in
conduct constituting a reason to suspend a license listed in
Section 411.187(a) after the person's license has been previously
suspended twice for the same reason[; or
(5) 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,
within 30 days of being notified by the department that the fee was
dishonored or reversed].
SECTION 8. Section 411.190(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) In the manner applicable to a person who applies for a
license to carry a handgun, the department shall conduct a
background check of a person who applies for certification as a
qualified handgun instructor or approved online course provider.
If the background check indicates that the applicant for
certification would not qualify to receive a handgun license, the
department may not certify the applicant as a qualified handgun
instructor or approved online course provider. If the background
check indicates that the applicant for certification would qualify
to receive a handgun license, the department shall provide handgun
instructor or online course provider training to the applicant.
The applicant shall pay a fee of $100 to the department for the
training. The applicant must take and successfully complete the
training offered by the department and pay the training fee before
the department may certify the applicant as a qualified handgun
instructor or approved online course provider. The department
shall issue a license to carry a handgun under the authority of this
subchapter to any person who is certified as a qualified handgun
instructor or approved online course provider [and who pays to the
department a fee of $40 in addition to the training fee]. The
department by rule may prorate or waive the training fee for an
employee of another governmental entity.
SECTION 9. Sections 411.201(d) and (h), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(d) An applicant for a license who is an active or retired
judicial officer must submit to the department:
(1) a completed application, including all required
affidavits, on a form prescribed by the department;
(2) one or more photographs of the applicant that meet
the requirements of the department;
(3) two complete sets of legible and classifiable
fingerprints of the applicant, including one set taken by a person
employed by a law enforcement agency who is appropriately trained
in recording fingerprints;
(4) evidence of handgun proficiency, in the form and
manner required by the department for an applicant under this
section;
[(5) a nonrefundable application and license fee of
$25;] and
(5) [(6)] if the applicant is a retired judicial
officer, a form executed by the applicant that authorizes the
department to make an inquiry into any noncriminal history records
that are necessary to determine the applicant's eligibility for a
license under this subchapter.
(h) The department shall issue a license to carry a handgun
under the authority of this subchapter to a United States attorney
or an assistant United States attorney, or to an attorney elected or
employed to represent the state in the prosecution of felony cases,
who meets the requirements of this section for an active judicial
officer. [The department shall waive any fee required for the
issuance of an original, duplicate, or renewed license under this
subchapter for an applicant who is a United States attorney or an
assistant United States attorney or who is an attorney elected or
employed to represent the state in the prosecution of felony
cases.]
SECTION 10. Section 118.011(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The county clerk may set and collect the following fee
from any person:
(1) Returned Check (Sec. 118.0215) . . . . . . not
less than $15 or more than $30
(2) Records Management and Preservation Fee (Sec.
118.0216) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . not more
than $10
(3) [Mental Health Background Check for License to
Carry a Handgun (Sec. 118.0217) . . . . . . not more than $2
[(4)] Marriage License for Out-of-State Applicants
(Sec. 118.018) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100
SECTION 11. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Sections 411.181(d) and (i), 411.186(d), 411.194,
411.195, 411.1951, 411.1953, 411.1954, 411.199(d), 411.1991(c),
411.1992(d), 411.1993(e), and 411.1994(d), Government Code; and
(2) Section 118.0217, Local Government Code.
SECTION 12. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an applicant for an original, duplicate, modified, or renewed
license to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
Government Code, as amended by this Act, who submits the
application on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.