Budge wrote:I was on the phone last night with one of the Texas State House Representatives that sits on the Appropriations Committee for the DPS. She wasn't real happy about my situation, and has agreed to look into it. In the meantime, she's having me send all my information to her, so they can look at the proposed bills and see if they can keep this from happening to others. Apparently, HB410 has already passed in the House, and it's sister bill, SB838, is up for a vote in the Senate. These bills would get rid of the requirement for CHL holders to have to show their license during a traffic stop. We still need to notify the officer, but he can look up your CHL on his own. As they are written, these bills would not have helped me. I did not notify the officer, for obvious reasons. So I talked with the House Rep at length about possible solutions to the 7-10 day lapse in approval and receiving the license.
One option is to have the Issue Date included in the DPS computer system used by police officers. Then have the letter that you receive with your online PIN number include a notification about the 7-10 days. If you keep the letter in your vehicle while you wait to be approved, the officer could look up your approval date and see if you are within the 7-10 day period.
Another option would require that CHL holders call in to activate their licenses. But this would require more manpower, more money and a new system in place.
The legislators and the DPS are not interested in any bill that would remove a CHL holders responsibility to notify an officer, even though all non-CHL holders do not have to notify about concealed weapons in the car. The "logic" behind this seems to be that it's a courtesy to the LEO, and the DPS doesn't want officers to feel like their jobs are any more dangerous with us out there.
For the law enforcement officers who may be reading this post, I would like to make a comment. When a citizen makes the decision to get a CHL, we open ourselves up to higher scrutiny (fingerprints and background checks) and we take on a greater legal responsibility than non-CHL holders. Please remember that when you meet one of us. We're the good guys. We took the time and effort to follow the law because we are law-abiding by nature. I debated whether or not to get a CHL for a couple of years, simply because I didn't want to be labeled by law enforcement, or "registered" as a gun owner in your systems. But the simple fact is that YOU cannot be there to protect me at all times, and I've already had to defend my home and family once while waiting for YOU to arrive. So when we hand you our CHL, please remember who you're dealing with...A FRIEND.
HB410 TOTALLY removes the requirement to notify and the penalties for not notifying, and the amendment by Guillen totally removes the officer's ability to freely get that info. They MUST have a valid reason to verify license status,and MUST have a need for that info in order to acquire it. At least that's how I read it.
Amended
Sec.411.2055.LIMITATION ON PROVISION OF LICENSING
INFORMATION TO PEACE OFFICER. The department by rule shall
establish a procedure by which a peace officer who provides the
department with a person’s driver’s license number, personal
identification certificate number, or vehicle license plate number
as part of a motor vehicle stop or other law enforcement inquiry is
prohibited from receiving information from the department as to
whether the person is the holder of a license issued under this
subchapter unless the officer indicates that information is
necessary for proper law enforcement purposes related to the
person’s possession or carrying of a handgun.
JL