Sen. Wentworth proposed SB354 and had a majority of the Senate who would vote for it, legalizing concealed carry in campus buildings by CHL holders. However, he could not get 2/3 of the Senate to vote to bring up the bill out of order to have it heard and so it languished. He then attached his bill to Sen. Zaffirini's higher ed finance bill (SB5) as an amendment, but it was challenged and determined to not be germane because Sen. Wentworth included an opt-out for private schools and Sen. Zaffirini's bill did not cover any private schools. Sen. Wentworth edited his bill and proposed a new amendment which removed the private school opt-out. This was determined to be germane, was voted on and accepted, so Sen. Zaffirini pulled SB5. Sen. Zaffirini then attached SB5 to Sen. Ogden's SB1581, another higher ed finance bill. Once she did so, Sen. Wentworth attached his edited bill as another amendment to SB1581. It was determined to be germane and was accepted. Sen. Ogden's SB1581 passed the Senate with Wentworth's amendment allowing concealed carry on campus.
The House now has the original higher ed finance bill (no campus carry amendments) as well as the amended Senate version and their own languishing concealed carry bills. Tension is high as we see what they do with them.
Who and where will actually be covered?
In the mean time, there's some discussion going on about how exactly the edits to Wentworth's bill to make it germane affected who is covered. Are private institutions now included (whereas before the edit they could opt-out?) Or does the language restrict it only to public schools? What about junior colleges and technical institutes? Would Van Taylor try to attach his HB1167 which allows campus carry on junior colleges and publical technical institutes to this one now? Could he? Does Wentworth's bill being attached make Van Taylor's germane to the Senate Bill that's now in the House? How do the restrictions on hospitals owned and operated by medical schools affect CHL holders?
Here's the text that passed the Senate:
There are a lot of threads going on right now about what's actually happening on the bills and who to call about it, so I'd like to provide this thread as a place for theory and discussion on who is now covered and what can be done with the remaining options in this session to get maximum coverage.Senator Wentworth wrote: Sec. 411.2031. CARRYING OF HANDGUNS BY LICENSE HOLDERS ON
CAMPUSES. (a) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Campus" means all land and buildings owned or leased by an institution of higher education.
(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
(3) "Premises" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.035, Penal Code.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a license holder may carry a concealed handgun on or about the license holder's person while the license holder is on the campus of an institution of higher education in this state.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an institution of higher education in this state may not adopt any rule, regulation, or other provision prohibiting license holders from carrying handguns on the campus of the institution.
(d) An institution of higher education in this state may establish rules, regulations, or other provisions concerning the storage of handguns in dormitories that are owned or operated by the institution and located on the campus of the institution.
(e) This section does not permit a license holder to carry a concealed handgun on or about the premises of a hospital maintained or operated by an institution of higher education. In this subsection, "hospital" has the meaning assigned by Section 241.003, Health and Safety Code.
(f) This section does not permit a license holder to carry a concealed handgun on the premises of a preschool, elementary school, or secondary school that is located on the campus of an institution of higher education if the institution gives effective notice under Section 30.06, Penal Code.