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House debates bill to require storage for legally carried weapons in courthouse secure areas
Summary
Rep. John Swallow sponsored a substitute to H.B. 82 directing secure facilities to offer storage for legally carried weapons while people are in courthouses. Debate centered on whether courts should charge fees, the fiscal note (~$82,000), and whether the change should cover all "legally carried weapons."
Representative John Swallow introduced the first substitute to House Bill 82 to require courts and other secure facilities to provide a place to store legally carried weapons for individuals who must enter a secured area.
Swallow said the absence of a statutory storage option forces some people to skip court or to hide weapons outside courthouses, creating safety risks. The sponsor said the change aligns courthouses with other secure facilities and would allow people to deposit weapons with law enforcement on-site while they attend court.
Representative Daniels offered an amendment (amendment #1) to require courts to provide the storage without charging a fee; she cited a fiscal note she read that showed about $82,000 in start-up costs for lockers and argued additional security systems would increase costs. Swallow and other supporters opposed imposing a mandatory fee waiver, saying some courts already handle items at minimal cost and charging and bookkeeping systems would complicate implementation.
Amendment #2, explained on the floor, broadened the bill's language from "concealed firearms" to "any legally carried weapon," explicitly including knives, mace and similar items; sponsors argued the change would align the bill with existing statutory references to secure areas (citing a related code section). Members asked whether that expansion would increase the fiscal note; opinions differed on the floor about quantifying additional cost.
The transcript records extended questioning about how items are handled now, whether lockers or on-site deputies would manage storage, and whether the bill or analogous law provides a time limit for how long an item can be held; the sponsor said neither the bill nor existing analogous provisions set a time limit. The floor then proceeded to a vote opening and recorded procedural votes in later segments, but a final floor passage tally for H.B. 82 is not recorded in these segments.
