| 1 | 1 | | By: Carona S.B. No. 551 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to civil liability for criminal street gang activity that |
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| 7 | 7 | | violates a court-ordered injunction. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 125, Civil Practice and |
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| 10 | 10 | | Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 125.070 to read as |
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| 11 | 11 | | follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 125.070. CIVIL ACTION FOR VIOLATION OF INJUNCTION. |
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| 13 | 13 | | (a) In this section, "governmental entity" means a political |
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| 14 | 14 | | subdivision of this state, including any city, county, school |
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| 15 | 15 | | district, junior college district, levee improvement district, |
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| 16 | 16 | | drainage district, irrigation district, water improvement |
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| 17 | 17 | | district, water control and improvement district, water control and |
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| 18 | 18 | | preservation district, freshwater supply district, navigation |
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| 19 | 19 | | district, conservation and reclamation district, soil conservation |
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| 20 | 20 | | district, communication district, public health district, and |
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| 21 | 21 | | river authority. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (b) A member of a criminal street gang is liable to the state |
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| 23 | 23 | | or a governmental entity injured by the violation of a temporary or |
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| 24 | 24 | | permanent injunctive order under this subchapter. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (c) In an action brought against a member of a criminal |
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| 26 | 26 | | street gang, the plaintiff must show that the member violated the |
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| 27 | 27 | | temporary or permanent injunctive order. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (d) A district, county, or city attorney or the attorney |
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| 29 | 29 | | general may sue for money damages on behalf of the state or a |
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| 30 | 30 | | governmental entity. If the state or a governmental entity |
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| 31 | 31 | | prevails in a suit under this section, the state or governmental |
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| 32 | 32 | | entity may recover: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (1) actual damages; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $20,000 |
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| 35 | 35 | | for each violation; and |
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| 36 | 36 | | (3) court costs and attorney's fees. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (e) The property of the criminal street gang or a member of |
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| 38 | 38 | | the street gang may be seized in execution on a judgment under this |
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| 39 | 39 | | section. |
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| 40 | 40 | | (f) The attorney general shall deposit money received under |
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| 41 | 41 | | this section for damages or as a civil penalty in the neighborhood |
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| 42 | 42 | | and community recovery fund held by the attorney general outside |
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| 43 | 43 | | the state treasury. Money in the fund is held by the attorney |
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| 44 | 44 | | general in trust for the benefit of the community or neighborhood |
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| 45 | 45 | | harmed by the violation of a temporary or permanent injunctive |
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| 46 | 46 | | order. Money in the fund may be used only for the benefit of the |
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| 47 | 47 | | community or neighborhood harmed by the violation of the injunctive |
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| 48 | 48 | | order. Interest earned on money in the fund shall be credited to |
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| 49 | 49 | | the fund. The attorney general shall account for money in the fund |
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| 50 | 50 | | so that money held for the benefit of a community or neighborhood, |
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| 51 | 51 | | and interest earned on that money, are not commingled with money in |
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| 52 | 52 | | the fund held for the benefit of a different community or |
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| 53 | 53 | | neighborhood. |
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| 54 | 54 | | (g) A district, county, or city attorney who brings suit on |
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| 55 | 55 | | behalf of a governmental entity shall deposit money received for |
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| 56 | 56 | | damages or as a civil penalty in an account to be held in trust for |
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| 57 | 57 | | the benefit of the community or neighborhood harmed by the |
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| 58 | 58 | | violation of a temporary or permanent injunctive order. Money in |
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| 59 | 59 | | the account may be used only for the benefit of the community or |
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| 60 | 60 | | neighborhood harmed by the violation of the injunctive order. |
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| 61 | 61 | | Interest earned on money in the account shall be credited to the |
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| 62 | 62 | | account. The district, county, or city attorney shall account for |
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| 63 | 63 | | money in the account so that money held for the benefit of a |
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| 64 | 64 | | community or neighborhood, and interest earned on that money, are |
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| 65 | 65 | | not commingled with money in the account held for the benefit of a |
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| 66 | 66 | | different community or neighborhood. |
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| 67 | 67 | | (h) An action under this section brought by the state or a |
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| 68 | 68 | | governmental entity does not waive sovereign or governmental |
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| 69 | 69 | | immunity for any purpose. |
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| 70 | 70 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 71 | 71 | | to a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date of |
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| 72 | 72 | | this Act. A cause of action that accrued before the effective date |
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| 73 | 73 | | of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the |
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| 74 | 74 | | effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for |
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| 75 | 75 | | that purpose. |
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| 76 | 76 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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