By: Perry  S.B. No. 263
         (In the Senate - Filed November 30, 2016; January 30, 2017,
  read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
  March 21, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 9,
  Nays 0; March 21, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the handgun proficiency required to obtain or renew a
  license to carry a handgun.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 411.188(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The director by rule shall establish minimum standards
  for handgun proficiency and shall develop a course to teach handgun
  proficiency and examinations to measure handgun proficiency.  The
  course to teach handgun proficiency is required for each person who
  seeks to obtain a license and must contain training sessions
  divided into two parts.  One part of the course must be classroom
  instruction and the other part must be range instruction and an
  actual demonstration by the applicant of the applicant's ability to
  safely and proficiently use a handgun. An applicant must be able to
  demonstrate, at a minimum, the degree of proficiency that is
  required to effectively operate a handgun [of .32 caliber or
  above].  The department shall distribute the standards, course
  requirements, and examinations on request to any qualified handgun
  instructor.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to an application to obtain or renew a license to carry a handgun
  submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. An
  application submitted before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect when the application was submitted,
  and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
 
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