Committee lays out bill to codify AG opinion allowing schools to authorize open carry by uniformed school marshals; public testimony absent

The Committee on Education laid out Senate Bill 8-70 and heard sponsor remarks explaining the bill would codify an attorney general opinion about the authority of school districts to set marshal policies.

Senator Bergwell, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure ‘‘is a codification of an attorney general opinion from this past interim’’ and said local school boards and governing bodies should retain discretion to decide whether school marshals may openly carry a firearm on campus or instead conceal or store a firearm in a locked safe. The sponsor emphasized the bill does not compel districts to create marshal programs or require marshals to carry.

Committee procedure and public testimony: The chair opened public testimony for SB 8-70 and announced resource witnesses were available, but no members of the public registered to speak. The chair then closed public testimony and left SB 8-70 pending, ‘‘subject to the call of the chair.’’ No formal committee vote on final passage was recorded in the hearing transcript.

Context: The sponsor said the bill responds to a 2024 attorney general opinion that, as he described it, would allow uniformed school marshals to open carry ‘‘only in the manner provided by written regulations adopted by a school board’s or school district’s board of trustees.’’ The sponsor briefly recited prior legislation (a 2021 bill he said authorized school marshal concealed-carry options) as background and asked for favorable consideration.

Ending: With no public testimony, the committee closed the hearing on SB 8-70 and left the measure pending for further consideration.