Committee rejects bill to codify immunity for volunteer church security teams

Representative Tony Furman, R.-District 82, introduced House Bill 1306, a measure that would codify and tighten civil-immunity protections for volunteer church security teams provided the volunteers complete training the congregation requires. The Judiciary Committee discussed the bill at its October hearing, with testimony from faith leaders, a retired FBI agent and an active police officer, and questions from multiple committee members. The committee ultimately voted not to pass the bill.

The bill’s sponsor, Representative Tony Furman, said the measure was intended to address a chilling effect he’d heard from church leaders worried that volunteers would be sued if they acted to protect congregants. “A lot of pastors and leaders and church staff have reached out to me and said that they're afraid to even use the security they have if they need it because they're afraid of being sued,” Furman said during his presentation. The bill would require some form of training before immunity applies, but it left the content and provider of that training to the congregation.

Supporters testified the bill filled a gap for congregations…