## KEN PAXTON ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

December 21, 2015

The Honorable AllisonPalmer 51st Judicial DistrictAttorney 124 West Beauregard OpinionNo. KP-0047 Re: The extent to which firearms may be excluded from buildings that contain courts, officesutilizedbythe courts, andothercounty officials (RQ-0040-KP) San Angelo, Texas 76903-5850

Dear Ms. Palmer: You seek an opinion about whether provisions ofthe Penal Code prohibitthe exclusion of firearms from certain colinty buildings. 1 You state that the Tom Green County Sheriffcurrently secures the district courthouse and the Tom Green County Justice Center and does not allow firearms inside the buildings even ifthe carrier has a concealed handgun license. See Request Letter at 1. You also tell us about the different offices that are located within other county buildingsthathouse courts and askwhetherfirearms maybe excludedfrom eachofthesebuildings "evenifthe possessor ofthe firearm has a concealed handgun license." 

### Id. at 2. Chapter 411 ofthe Government Code was amended in 2015 with the enactment ofSenate Bill 273. Act ofMay 23, 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., ch. 593, 

### § 1, 2015 Tex. Gen. Laws 2000, 2000- 2001 (codified at TEX. Gov'TCODE § 411.209). Theprimary change under Senate Bill 273 is the. creation ofenforcement measures available against the state or a political subdivision that seeks to wrongfully exclude a person from carrying a handgun where the person may lawfully do so. See id. Section 411.209 provides: A state agency or a political subdivision ofthe state may not provide notice by a communication described by Section 30.06, Penal Code, or by any sign expressly referring to that law or to a concealed handgun license, that a license holder carrying a handgun under the authority of this subchapter is prohibited from entering orremaining on a premises or other place owned or leased by the governmental entity unless license holders are

1 See Letter from Honorable Allison Palmer, 51st Judicial Dist. Att'y, to Honorable Ken Paxton, Tex. Att'y Gen. at 1-2 (July 14, 2015), https://www.texasattomeygeneral.gov/opinion/requests-for-opinion-rqs ("Request Letter").The Honorable Allison Palmer

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prohibited from carrying a handgun on the premises or other place by Section 46.03 or 46.035, Penal Code. TEX. Gov'T CODE§ 411.209(a); see also id. §§ 411.171-.209 (subchapter H providing for the licensing ofhandguns). 2 Because section411.209 references sections 46.03, 46.035, and 30.06 of the Penal Code, we briefly discuss eachprovision. See id. §411.209(a). Section 46.03 ofthe Penal Code prohibits a person, including a licensee, from carrying firearms and other prohibited weapons, including handguns, in certain locations identified in,the section.3 See TEX. PENAL CODE§ 46.03(a), (f) ("Except as provided by Subsection (e-1), it is not a defense to prosecution under this section that the actorpossessed a handgun and was licensedto carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code."). The enumerated locations include premises of schools and educational institutions, polling places during voting, and other specified locations. See id. § 46.03(a)(l)-(6). Relevant here, section 46.03 prohibits handguns from "the premises ofany government court or offices utilized by the court, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the court." Id. § 46.03(a)(3). Penal Code section 46.035 lists the locations where a license holder may not carry a handgun. See id. §46.035(b). The list ofprohibitedplaces in section46.035 includes thepremises ofcertain businesses involved in the sale ofalcoholic beverages, the premises ofa correctional facility, the premises ofcertain places ofworship, and "inthe room or rooms where a meeting of a governmental entity is held and ifthe meeting is an openmeeting."4 Id. § 46.035(b)(l)-(6), (c). Section 30.06 of the Penal Code is a criminal trespass statute that essentially allows property owners to prohibit license holders from carrying concealed handguns onto their property by providing the prescribed notice. See id. § 30.06(a)-(b); see also id. § 30.06(c)(3) (providing ·exactlanguage necessary to be included on any written communication intendedto provide notice that entry with a handgun is prohibited). But it excepts that property which is "owned or leased by a governmental entity and is not a premises or other place on which the license holder is prohibited from carrying the handgun under section 46.03 or 46.035." Id. § 30.06(a), (e). The exceptionin subsection 30.06(e) means that a governmental entity does nothave general authority to prohibit concealed handguns from its public buildings other than a location listed in sections 46.03 and 46.035. See id.§ 30.06(e); see also SENATE COMM. ON STATEAFFAIRS, BILLANALYSIS, Tex. S.B. 273, 84th Leg., R.S. (2015) at 1 ("When uncooperative governments post signs to ban Texas citizens from carrying where it is legal, they are breaking the law and infringing on the

2House Bill 910, also passed in 2015, amended subchapter H and mostly removed the requirement of concealment withrespect to an individual's license to cany a handgun. See Act ofMay 29, 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., ch. 437, §§ 16-28, 2015 Tex. Gen. Laws 1706, 1710-1714 (codified at various provisions in TEX. Gov'TCODE ch. 411, subch. H).

3As you ask about only section 411.209 ofthe Government Code, we limit this opinion to a consideration of only the prohibition ofhandguns.

4You do not ask us to address the scope ofsubsection 46.035(c). See Request Letter at 1-2.

### The·Honorable Allison Palmer

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second amendmentrights ofTexas citizens. S.B. 273 provides an enforcement mechanism

...to stop these illegal postings."). Taken together, these three provlSlons authorize a political subdivision to prohibit handguns from only the locations identified in Penal Code sections 46.03 and 46.035. Your questions do not implicate any limitation or expansion ofthe kinds of locations from which a governmental entity may prohibit handguns. Rather, you ask only about the scope ofthe location identified in subsection 46.03(a)(3) concerning the "premises ofany government court or offices utilized by a court." Request Letter at 1; TEX. PENAL CODE § 46.03(a)(3). Your questions implicate many fact sensitive issues that cannot be resolved in an attorney general opinion. However, we will provide the legal guidance that we can. When construing statutes, courts seek to ascertain and give effect to the Legislature's intent. See Entergy Gulf States, Inc. v. Summers, 282 S.W.3d 433, 437 (Tex. 2009). "The plain meaning ofthe text is thebestexpression of[that] intent[.]" Molinet v:Kimbrell, 356 S.W.3d407, 411 (Tex. 2011). "If

### a statute
... assigns aparticularmeaning to aterm, [courts] are boundbythe statutory usage." TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. 

### v. Combs, 340 S.W.3d 432, 439 (Tex. 2011). "Undefinedterms
... are typically given their ordinary meaning[.]" Id To determine the scope ofthe prohibition in subsection 46.03(a)(3), we need to construe the phrase "premises ofany government court or offices utilized by the court," which requires an examination of the term "premises." TEX. PENAL CODE § 46.03(a)(3). Subsection 46.035(f) defines the term "premises" for purposes of section 46.03. Id. § 46.035(f)(3); see also id. §46.03(c)(l) (defining "premises"by reference to section 46.035). "'Premises' means a building or aportion of a building. The term does not include any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage; or other parking area." Id. § 46.035(f)(3) (emphasis added). "[T]he word 'or' is a disjunctive conjunction that indicates a choice between two alternatives generally corresponding to 'either' or 'eitherthis or that.'" Gunn v. Phillips, 410 S.W.2d 202, 206 (Tex. Civ. App.-Houston 1966, writ refd n.r.e.). The common meaning of "building" is "a structure with a roofand walls, such as a house, school, store, or factory." NEW OXFORD AMERICAN DICTIONARY 228 (3d ed. 2010); see also TEX. PENAL CODE § 30.01(2) (defining "building" as "any enclosed structure intended for use or occupation as a habitation or for some purpose oftrade, manufacture, ornament, or use"). Section 46.03 neither provides nor directs us to a definition of"government court," but article V, section 1ofthe Texas Constitution vests judicial power in listed courts and "such other courts as may be provided by law."5 

### TEX. CONST. art. V, § 

### 1. It

### is likelythat acourtwould determinethat a "governmentcourt"under section 46.03 is any ofthejudicial bodies created by either the Texas Constitution or by the Legislature. We also considerthe meaning of"offices utilized by the court." TEX. PENAL CODE§ 46.03(a)(3). Section 46.03 does not define the term "office," but a Texas court ofappeals has defined "office"

5The Legislature has provided for the courts in chapters 22 through 30 ofthe Government Code, which containprovisions for each ofthe differenttypes ofcourts, and all ofwhich havejudicial authorityto determine rights as between persons or property. See TEX. Gov'T CODE §§ 22.001-.302 (appellate courts), 24.001-.954 (district courts), 25.0001-.2702 (statutory county courts), 26.001-.353 (constitutional county courts), 27.001-.061 Gustice courts), 29.001-.105 (municipal courts), 30.00001-.01904 (municipal courts of record). Created by the Texas Constitution orbythe Legislature, these bodies are courts established by the government.The Honorable Allison Palmer

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as a "place where a particular kind ofbusiness

... is transacted." Anderson v. State, 17 Tex. Ct. App. 305, 310 (1884). The common meaning of"utilize" is to "make practical and effective use of." NEW OXFORD AMERICAN DICTIONARY 1909 (3d ed. 2010). Thus, the phrase "premisesofany governmentcourt" generallymeans either (1) a structure utilized by a court created by the Texas Constitution or the Legislature, or (2) a portion ofsuch a structure. Andthepremises ofanofficeutilizedbythe court generallymeans abuilding orportion ofa building that is a place where the business ofa government court is transacted. But such alternatives still do not provide any clarity with respect to where section 46.03 prohibits handguns. Ifthe Legislature intended for the entire structure with a government court in it to be a location from which firearms are excluded, it could have redefined "premises" to mean only a building. See Kappus 

### v. Kappus, 284 S.W.3d 831, 835 (Tex. 2009) (recognizing that the Legislature chooses "its words carefully and intentionally"). Itdid not. To so construe subsection 46.03(a)(3) would essentially render the language "portion of a building" meaningless-a construction that, like the courts, we try to avoid. See Hanson 

### v. Jordan, 198 S.W.2d 262, 263 (Tex. 1946) (stating that courts "should avoid a construction which renders any provision meaningless"). By including the "portion ofa building" language, the Legislature evidenced an intent to have the prohibition in subsection 46.03(a)(3) equally apply to an area that is less than the entire structure. Thus, the disjunctive "or"inthephrasemaynotprovide a discretionarychoice between two alternatives as much as recognition that flexibility is necessary to accommodate the different kinds ofspaces courts utilize in various types ofbuildings. Further, whenconsideringthe statute as a whole, under subsection 46.03(a)(3) a courtmay issue written regulations or provide authorization concerning the allowance of firearms on its premises. See TEX. PENAL CODE§ 46.03(a)(3) (establishing an offense for carrying a prohibited weapon "onthe premises ofany government court or offices utilizedbythe court, unless pursuant to written regulations or authorization ofthe court"). A court's authority with regard to such regulations or authorization would not include areas ofthe building that are beyondthe operations ofthe court. This is some indication that the Legislature intended the prohibition in subsection 46.03(a)(3) to have a limited reach. Yet, in the greater context of sectfon 411.209's penalty against a governmental entity improperly excluding handguns, the Legislature also amended subsection 46.035(c), Penal Code, to prohibithandguns from the "room or rooms where a meeting ofa governmental entity is held." TEX. PENAL CODE § 46.035(c) (emphasis added). By this amendment, the Legislature indicated that it knows how to limit the handgun prohibition to a specific room in which an activity is conducted. The Legislature chose to use the term "government court," instead of government courtroom. Id. § 46.03(a)(3). So, though the Legislature may have intended subsection 46.03(a)(3) to have a limited reach, it did not expressly limit section 46.03(a)(3) to only the room thathouses the government court. TheLegislaturehasnotclearly demarcated, or established, apreciseboundaryin abuilding or portion ofa building at which handguns are prohibited or permitted. Yet, it has established an enforcement scheme that can be properly effectuated only where such a boundary is determined ;md definitive. Similarly, the Legislature has not provided the Attorney General's Office withThe Honorable Allison Palmer

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specific authority to make rules governing this enforcement scheme. While the outside limits of subsection46.03(a)(3) maybe unclear, atthe very least it canbe saidthatthe Legislature intended to prohibit concealed handguns from the rooms that house government courts and offices central to the business ofthe courts.6 Accordingly, in the absence ofclarity from the Legislature and in order to provide concrete advice to governmental entities seeking to secure their courts without penalty, we construe subsection46.03(a)(3) to encompass only government courtrooms and those offices essential to the operation ofthe government court. Section 46.03(a)(3) recognizes the power ofgovernment courts to override the ban on concealed handguns in that a court may issue "writtenregulations orwritten authorization" allowingthe carrying ofconcealedhandguns intheir spaces. Likewise, we routinely acknowledge that decisions such as this are for the governmental entity in the first instance, subject to the applicable review. 

### See, e.g., Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. KP0007 (2015) at 2 (concluding that the determination ofwhether the expenditure ofpublic funds is for a public purpose is for the governmental body inthe first instance, subjecttojudicial review). Accordingly, the responsible authority that would notify license holders oftheir inability to carry on the respective premises must make the determination ofwhich government courtrooms and offices are essential to the operation ofthe government court. And it is that authority that could face the statutory civil penalty. TEX. Gov'TCODE§ 41 l.209(a) (prohibiting "[a] state agency or a political subdivision ofthe state" from providing improper notice). Ifthis authority is not the government court itself, the responsible authority would presumably consultwiththe government courtto determine what government courtrooms and offices are essential to its operation.

6Towardthat end, these parameters from the Legislature will presumablyprevent a governmental bodyfrom usingpretextto attemptto exclude the licensed carrying ofhandguns where the law allows it.The Honorable Allison Palmer

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### SUMMARY
For purposes of section 411.209 ofthe Government Code, the phrase "premises ofany government court" used in Penal Code subsection46.03(a)(3) generallymeans either(1) a structureutilized by a court created by the Texas Constitution or the Legislature, or (2) a portion of such a structure. The premises ofa "government courtorofficeutilizedbythe court"means a government courtroom or those offices essential to the operation ofthe government court. The responsible authority that would notify license holders oftheir inability to carry on the respective premises must make the determination of which government courtrooms and offices are essential to the operation ofthe government court, in consultation with the government court.

CHARLES E. ROY First Assistant Attorney General BRANTLEY STARR Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel VIRGINIA K. HOELSCHER Chair, Opinion Committee CHARLOTTE M. HARPER Very truly yours,

KEN PAXTON Attorney General ofTexas

Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee