### KEN PAXTON

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

November 29, 2016

The HonorableAbel Herrero Opinion No. KP-0120 Chair, Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence Texas House ofRepresentatives Re: Authority of a junior or community college to prohibit the carrying ofconcealed handguns in classrooms or other areas where minors attend class or are routinely present (RQ-0109-KP) Post Office Box 2910 Austin, Texas 78768-2910

Dear Representative Herrero:

You seek an opinion on several questions relating to the authority ofajuniororcommunity college to prohibitthe carrying ofconcealed handguns in classrooms or other areas where minors attend class or are routinely present. 1 Specifically, you ask:

Question 1: Can ajunior/community college prohibit handguns in the classrooms on the college campus, ifminor children may attend classes in any or all ofthe classrooms onthat campus?

Question 2: May handguns be prohibited during special programs where minors will be present and in all areas where minors are expected to appear?

Question 3: For programs that take place over several weeks andaredirectedatminors (e.g. College for Kids), may handguns be prohibited in all areas where minors may congregate?

Question 4: May handguns be prohibited on· campuses which offer childcare centers?
Request Letter at 2.

'See Letter from Honorable Abel Herrero, Chair, House Comm. on Crim. Jurisprudence, to Honorable Ken Paxton, Tex. Att'y Gen. at 2 (May 24, 2016), https://www,texasattomeygeneral.gov/opinion/requests-for-opinion-rqs ("Request Letter").The Honorable Abel Herrero

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Passed by the Eighty-fourth Legislature, Senate Bill 11 ("S.B. 11")amendedprovisions in chapter411 ofthe Government Code and chapter 46 ofthe Penal Code. See Act ofMay 31, 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., ch. 438, §§ 1-6, 2015 Tex. Gen. Laws 1723, 1723-26.2 As added by S.B. 11, subsection 411.2031(b) ofthe Government Code expressly authorizes a license holder to carry a concealed handgun on the campus ofan institution ofhigher education. See TEX. Gov'T CODE § 411.2031(b). Government Code subsection 411.2031(d-1) authorizes the president or other chief executive officer of an institution of higher education to "establish reasonable rules, regulations, or other provisions regarding the carrying ofconcealed handguns by license holders

on the campus ofthe institution or on the premises located on the campus ofthe institution." Id. § 411.2031(d-1); see also id. (requiring the president or other chiefexecutive officer to consult with students, staff, and faculty about the "nature of the student population, specific safety considerations, and the uniqueness ofthe campus environment"). Yet, subsection 411.2031(d-1) expressly prohibits the president or chiefexecutive officer ofan institution ofhigher education from establishing any "provisions,thatgenerallyprohibitorhave the effectofgenerallyprohibiting license holders from carrying concealed handguns on the campus ofthe institution." Id.; see also Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. KP-0051 (2015) at 2 (concluding that "[i]fan institution prohibited the carrying of concealed handguns in a substantial number of classrooms, a court would likely conclude that the effect would be to 'generally prohibit'license holders from carrying concealed handguns on campus, contrary to the Legislature's express requirements"). Thus, as ajunior or community college is subject to this provision, it may not adopt any rule or regulation that generally prohibits or has the effect of generally prohibiting a license holder from carrying a concealed handgun on campus. See TEX. Gov'TCODE § 411.2031(a)(2) (defining "institution of higher education" by reference to Education Code section 61.003), TEX. EDUC. CODE§ 61.003(8) (defining "institution ofhigher education" to include a publicjunior college).

Your questions presuppose a different standard due to the presence ofminors. Nothing in S.B. 11 expressly excepts from the concealedcarry authorization areas ofa campus ofaninstitution ofhigher education in which minors may congregate. Relevant here, subsection 46.03(a) ofthe Penal Code generally prohibits a person from carrying firearms and other specified weapons on "the physical premises ofa school or educational institution." TEX. PENAL CODE § 46.03(a); see id. §46.01(3), (5) (defining "firearm" and "handgun"). Here, a "school or educational institution" is distinguished from an "institution ofhigher education" and does not include the premises ofa community or junior college campus. See TEX. Gov'T CODE § 411.2031, TEX. EDUC. CODE § 61.003(8) (defining "institution of higher education" with definition that does not include primary or secondary schools); see also Tex. Att'y Gen. L0-92-42 at 2 n.2 (notingtheterm "school

or educational institution" means a "publicprimary or secondary school or a primary or secondary private or parochial school"). This language of subsection 46.03(a) refers to the premises of particular schools withoutregard to the nature ofthe activity. See TEX. PENALCODE§ 46.03(a)(l). Thus, this part ofsubsection 46.03(a) does not operate to prohibit concealed handguns from the premises ofajunior or community college campus.

2S.B. 11 is generally effective as ofAugust 1, 2016. See Act ofMay 31, 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., ch. 438, § 8(a), 2015 Tex. Gen. Laws 1723, 1726. For publicjuniorcolleges, it takes effect on August 1, 2017. See id § 8(d).The Honorable Abel Herrero

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Subsection 46.03(a) also prohibits a person from carrying firearms and other specified weapons on "any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or educational institution is being conducted." 

### Id §46.03(a)(l). This language is limited, not by location, but rather by activity. See id Such an activity is one sponsored by a school oreducational institution, which again does not include an activity sponsored by ajunioror community college. Unless the classes or special programs about which you ask are actually sponsored by a school instead ofthe community orjunior college, this phrase similarly does not prohibit concealed handguns on a junior or community college campus. Cf Request Letter at 1 (stating that "[m]anyjunior and community colleges" have early college high school programs). By its plain language, subsection 46.03(a)'s prohibition is based on premises and activities, not on the demographics ofthe people inthose locations or on the people participating in those activities. See Kia Motors Corp. v. Ruiz, 432 S.W.3d 865, 869 (Tex. 2014) ("The plain language of a statute is the surest guide to the Legislature's intent.").

Moreover, by specifically excluding from the firearm and weapons prohibition in subsection 46.03(a)(l) the "premises ofan instltution ofhigher education or

... any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by the institution [of higher education] is being conducted," the Legislature clearly reiterated its intent to allow concealed handguns on college campuses. TEX. PENAL CODE §46.03(a)(l)(B); see also TEX. Gov'T CODE § 411.203l(b) (authorizing a license holder to carry a concealed handgun on college campuses). Accordingly, while section 46.03 prohibits firearms and other weapons from certain locations at which minor children may be a predominant population, we cannot conclude the Legislature intended section 46.03 to impose a general prohibition against firearms and other weapons from a location, particularly college campuses, due to the mere presence ofminors. This is especially true given that the Legislature has not prohibited in that section firearms in a number of locations where minors may congregate, such as shoppingmalls, movietheaters, museums, and music venues. See

_ TEX. PENAL CODE§ 46.03.

You raiseAttorney General Opinion KP-0051, in whichthis office examinedprovisions of S.B. 11, to determine the extent to which an institution of higher education may prohibit the concealedcarryofhandguns onits campus. See RequestLetter at 1. Youtell us thatyourquestions arise, in part, from statements in Opinion KP-0051. See id.; see also Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. KP-0051 (2015). As you point out, the opinion provided:

As an example, some institutions of higher education have grade school classrooms on their campuses. Given that the Legislature made it a criminal offense to carry a firearm on the physical premises ofsucha school, rules regulatingthe carrying ofconcealed handguns in such grade school classrooms would be consistent with the Legislature's intent.

Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. KP-0051 (2015) at 1-2. This statement serves to illustrate the point that while S.B. 11 does not authorize an institution ofhigher education to enact rules that have the effect of generally prohibiting license holders from carrying concealed handguns on campus, it does allow such institutions to enact reasonable rules regarding certain types ofclassrooms and other areas in certain circumstances. See id.The Honorable Abel Herrero

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Thus, generally speaking, ajunior or community college may not categorically prohibit concealed handguns from the junior or community college campus. But as authorized by Government Code subsection 411.2031(d-1), the president or other chiefexecutive officer ofthe junior or community college may establish rules, regulations, and other provisions that accommodate the unique nature ofa particular campus provided that such rules, regulations, or provisions do not "generally prohibit or have the effect ofgenerally prohibiting license holders from carrying concealed handguns on the campus of the institution." TEX. Gov'T CODE §411.2031(d-1). Applying these principles to your specific questions, a junior or community college may not adopt a blanket prohibition against concealed handguns in all ofits classrooms merely because minors may attend or be present in any or all classrooms. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. KP-0051 (2015) at 2. Nor may ajunior or community college adopt a blanket prohibition against concealed handguns at all special programs simply because minors may be in attendance. Yet, ajuniororcommunity college is authorizedto establishreasonable rules thattake into account the "nature ofthe student population, specific safety considerations, and the uniqueness ofthe campus environment." TEX. Gov'TCODE § 411.2031(d-1). Such rules could prohibit concealed handguns in specific classrooms and campus areas at times where there may be a congregation of minors, as well as specific rooms where child-care services are provided, so long as those rules do not operate to "generally prohibit or have the effect ofgenerally prohibiting license holders from carrying concealed handguns on the campus ofthe institution." Id.The Honorable Abel Herrero

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### SUMMARY

Pursuant to amendments made to chapter 411 of the Government Code and chapter 46 ofthe Penal Code by Senate Bill 11 from the Eighty-fourth Legislature, a junior or community college may not categoricallyprohibit concealedhandguns from the locations you identify due to the presence of minors. Under Government Code subsection 411.2031(d-1), the president or other chief executive officer of the junior or community college may establish reasonable rules, regulations, and other provisions regardingthe carryingofconcealedhandgunsby licenseholdersthat accommodatetheunique nature ofaparticular campusprovidedthat such rules, regulations, or provisions do not generally prohibit or have the effect of generally prohibiting license holders from carrying concealed handguns on the campus ofthe institution.

JEFFREY C. MATEER FirstAssistantAttorney General

BRANTLEY STARR Deputy First Assistant Attorney General

VIRGINIA K. HOELSCHER Chair, Opinion Committee

CHARLOTTE M. HARPER Very truly yours,

# ~?~ KEN PAXTON Attorney General ofTexas

AssistantAttorney General, Opinion Committee