85R1217 LED-D     By: Keough H.B. No. 556       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the civil liability of certain persons in connection   with allowing or forbidding handguns on the premises of a business   or apartment complex.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is   amended by adding Chapter 95A to read as follows:   CHAPTER 95A. LIABILITY OF CERTAIN PERSONS IN CONNECTION WITH   ALLOWING OR FORBIDDING HANDGUNS ON CERTAIN PREMISES          Sec. 95A.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:                (1)  "Apartment complex" means two or more dwellings in   one or more buildings that are owned by the same owner, located on   the same lot or tract, and managed by the same owner, agent, or   management company.                (2)  "License holder" means a person licensed to carry   a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code.          Sec. 95A.002.  LIABILITY OF CERTAIN PERSONS THAT FORBID   HANDGUNS. (a) This section does not apply to an entity required to   display a sign under Section 411.204, Government Code.          (b)  A person with control over the premises of a business or   an apartment complex who forbids entry on the premises by a license   holder with a concealed handgun is strictly liable to a license   holder who would otherwise have carried a concealed handgun onto   the premises for damages for personal injury or death resulting   from an occurrence on the premises:                (1)  in which the license holder would have been   justified in using deadly force; and                (2)  that could have been prevented by the otherwise   lawful use of a handgun by the license holder.          Sec. 95A.003.  IMMUNITY OF CERTAIN PERSONS THAT ALLOW   HANDGUNS. A person with control over the premises of a business or   an apartment complex who allows entry on the premises by a license   holder with a handgun is not liable based solely on that permission   for damages arising from the lawful carrying of a handgun on the   premises.          Sec. 95A.004.  ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION. For purposes   of this chapter:                (1)  an oral or written communication that constitutes   notice for purposes of Section 30.06, Penal Code, is sufficient to   constitute forbidding entry on the premises by a license holder   with a concealed handgun; and                (2)  the lack of an oral or written communication that   constitutes notice for purposes of Section 30.06 or 30.07, Penal   Code, is sufficient to constitute allowing entry on the premises by   a license holder with a concealed or openly carried handgun, as   applicable.          SECTION 2.  (a) Section 95A.002, Civil Practice and   Remedies Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a cause of   action that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A   cause of action that accrues before the effective date of this Act   is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action immediately   before that date, and that law is continued in effect for that   purpose.          (b)  Section 95A.003, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as   added by this Act, does not apply to a cause of action that accrued   before the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that   accrued before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law   applicable to the cause of action immediately before that date, and   that law is continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.