Author Topic: How Texas Legislators Have Responded To The Santa Fe Shooting  (Read 371 times)

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Offline thackney

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How Texas Legislators Have Responded To The Santa Fe Shooting
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2019/04/29/330365/how-texas-legislators-are-responding-to-the-santa-fe-shooting/

May 18 marks the first anniversary of the Santa Fe high school tragedy, in which 10 people were killed and 13 wounded. State lawmakers have drafted a number of bills in response to the shooting, and with the legislative session ending next month, some of the future laws are taking shape now.

Gov. Greg Abbott named school safety as one of five emergency items for the 2019 legislative session. Shortly after the Santa Fe tragedy, he released a school safety report. Among the list of recommendations, it called for lawmakers to study red flag laws, though Abbott told an NRA convention last year, “The problem is not guns, it’s hearts without God.”

The Santa Fe shooting came just weeks after 17 people were killed and 17 injured at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In response to the Parkland shooting, Florida state lawmakers passed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, which included some gun control measures, such as raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21. It also included a provision that’s sometimes referred to as an extreme risk law or “red flag law,” which allows law enforcement officers to obtain a court order temporarily restricting a person’s access to firearms and ammunition....

...Bills Gaining Traction

SB 10, authored by Sen. Jane Nelson and co-authored by every member of the Senate, would create the Texas Mental Health Consortium. The Senate has passed this bill and it’s under consideration in the House.
Nelson also authored the Senate’s supplemental budget bill, SB 500, which includes reimbursement for eligible school districts that are recovering from a school shooting. SB 500 makes Santa Fe ISD eligible for a nearly $11 million reimbursement. According to the school district, it incurred around $3 million in security improvement costs immediately following the incident. The Senate and House have passed the bill.

SB 811 by Sen. Bryan Hughes would give schools immunity from liability for any damages resulting from “any reasonable action” taken by security personnel to maintain the safety of the school campus. The Senate has passed this bill and it’s under consideration in the House.

SB 244 by Sen. Brandon Creighton would allow schools to appoint more school marshals per campus. The Senate has passed this bill and it’s under consideration in the House.

Creighton also authored SB 243, which would remove the state mandate that all school marshals in regular and direct contact with students keep their firearms locked in a safe. The Senate has passed this bill, and it’s under consideration in the House.

HB 2195 by Rep. Morgan Meyer would require each school district to adopt an active shooter emergency policy. The House has passed this bill and it’s now under consideration in the Senate....

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