For over a year Representative Sergio Munoz, Jr. wrote and re-wrote a piece of legislation—he said will keep students across Texas safe from stray bullets.
"Just overall awareness will improve and I think bring to light the responsibility that everyone needs to have,” Munoz said. “We don't want this type of incident to happen again here or in the rest of the state."
House Bill 801 will increase the projectile penalty from a Class ‘C’ misdemeanor to a Class ‘A’ if the bullet crosses onto school property.
It will also require hunters to take a hunter education course and have TXDOT place signs in requested and appropriate places to warn the public of school in range of a shooters bullets.
"We're trying to do what we can to, not remedy the situation, but put something on the books that will make it a deterrent in the future,” Munoz said. “If we're adding more education and adding personal responsibility we can prevent that from happening here and the state of Texas again."
Despite the stricter guidelines, Munoz told Action 4 News many ranchers and property owners are very receptive to the idea.
However, he knows there will be some who object…in the end it is about protecting young lives.
If the bills passes both the House and Senate it will take effect on September 1, 2013.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT