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Cooke County removes employee handbook ban on carrying firearms, defers to state law
Summary
Cooke County commissioners voted to revise the employee handbook so county employees will follow Texas open-carry law rather than a county-specific ban. The change was approved on a voice vote after staff said TAC legal advised no separate policy was required.
Cooke County commissioners approved a revision to the county employee handbook that removes a prohibition on employees possessing or carrying firearms on county premises, aligning county policy with Texas open-carry law.
The court was told that creating a standalone county firearms policy was unnecessary because state open-carry statutes already govern possession and carry on public property. The proposed change replaces the handbook language that barred firearms on county premises so employees "follow Texas state law." The court approved the revision by motion and voice vote.
The discussion noted the handbook change is limited to removing the prohibition and does not create new workplace safety provisions beyond existing state law and the county's workplace violence policy. Commissioners confirmed the revision was intended to have employees adhere to state statutes rather than invent local rules. The motion passed unanimously, four to zero, with one commissioner absent.
The court did not adopt additional implementation details at the meeting; staff indicated the workplace-violence section of the handbook would be updated to reflect the change and that the court would receive the revised handbook language at a future meeting.
