Breaking News!

SB1164, a bill relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on the campuses of institutions of higher education, has passed the Texas Senate. The final vote was 19-12 for this bill.

This bill is off to the House. As mentioned previously, this bill's first stop will be in the Public Safety Committee. We should be able to move through this committee quickly and without further amendments.

Once through the Public Safety Committee, the bill goes to Calendars. The Chair of the Calendars Committee, Representative Brian McCall, pretty much killed the House version of this bill and is working to kill the Employer Parking Lot bill, another bill that has passed the Senate.

If this bill is to see debate on the House floor, we will need to focus our efforts on contacting the members of the Calendars Committee and the House leadership to let them know that we want to see this bill on the Calendar early enough that will receive a fair debate and a vote by the full House.

There was some more good news from the Texas Senate this morning. HB1020, a bill "relating to the use, exhibition, or possession of a firearm by public school students participating in certain school-sponsored programs and activities sponsored or supported by the Parks and Wildlife Department", passed the Senate and is on it's way to the Governor's desk to be signed into law.

I commented on HB1020 in a recent Texas Legislation Update. This bill opens the door to allow school sponsored shooting sports in our public schools. Both the author of this bill in the house, and the sponsor in the Senate, are Democrats. I would like to thank Texas State Representative Joe Deshotel for authoring this bill, and State Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa for sponsoring this bill in the Senate.

One final note on HB1020. This House Bill passed without a companion Senate Bill being introduced. Just a little tidbit that I found interesting.