With the Texas Legislature convening this year in Austin, many criminal laws have been changed. Fannin County Court At Law Judge Charles Butler gave the program at the October 14 meeting of the Bonham Rotary Club, and spoke on a few of the “hot button” issues that were changed this year.
The Open Carry Law passed and is now law. The new law states that you must be over 18 years of age, a resident of Texas for 6 months, have a valid CHL license, can only carry it on a belt holster or a shoulder holster, CHLs from other states are accepted, the law can stop you any time and ask for your CHL license, and businesses must post signs if they don’t want it there. Also, now you can carry a gun on your boat without a CHL, but it must be concealed, like you would in your car.
Judge Butler stated that ten million dollars will be spent on body cameras for police officers. He stated that this law will help here in Fannin County with their limited budgets.
The State of Texas has decriminalized truancy. School students and/or their parents that are truant will not be charged and have a criminal record. In the past, Fannin County handled truancy by the Justices of the Peace and was a Class C Criminal Misdemeanor. Now that law has changed and is a civil case and not a criminal case. You have not broken the law, but you will receive the same type of punishment. Now the schools must come up with a common sense approach to determine truancy.
The laws on DWIs and DUIs have changed. Drinking and driving is not against the law. You cannot drink while you are driving, nor can your passengers -- .08 is the blood alcohol content limit and .04 is the blood alcohol content limit for commercial drivers.
You can be under the legal limit and still be considered intoxicated. Drugs may be proven the same way. Judge Butler said that this opens the door for controversy. He believes in later years, this will change. He also stated that Criminal District Attorney Richard Glaser has done a good job by making Fannin County a no tolerance county. You cannot refuse a blood test.
He also stated that penalties for DWI have increased. They are more strict on people who are 21 years of age and younger. The first DWI requires a minimum of 72 hours in jail. The second DWI requires 6 days in jail. The third offense is a felony and goes to District Court and prison. There is no time limit now between these offenses.
He answered several questions from the Rotarians. One was about texting. He said it is still illegal to text in school zones, but legal other places. He expects that law to change soon. He also stated that sexting is now a criminal offense.
Judge Butler also explained what the Fannin County Court At Law is. It was created by our State Legislature about 5 years ago. His court handles half of the family law cases including divorces, adoptions, protective orders, etc. He also handles all misdemeanor cases. He stated that some people get his court confused with Judge Carter’s County Court.
Bonham Rotary Club meets every Wednesday at noon at the Family Life Center. For more information, go to www.bonhamrotaryclub.org or find the club on Facebook.