83S10260 JSC-D
By: Larson H.B. No. 47
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Texas Liberty Preservation Act; providing
penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. (a) This Act shall be known as the Texas Liberty
Preservation Act.
(b) The legislature finds that:
(1) the Tenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution authorizes the United States federal government to
exercise only those powers specifically delegated to it under
Article I, Section 8, United States Constitution;
(2) the guaranty of the constitutional limitations on
federal power is a matter of contract between the several states,
including the State of Texas, and the federal government at the time
the United States Constitution was ratified and subsequently
amended by the Bill of Rights;
(3) Article VI, United States Constitution, provides
that the laws of the United States federal government are the
supreme law of the land only if those laws are adopted in accordance
with the powers delegated to the federal government in the United
States Constitution;
(4) the President of the United States has asserted
that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (Pub. L. No.
107-40), enacted in 2001, authorizes the president to indefinitely
detain, without charge, any person, including a citizen of the
United States or a lawful resident alien, regardless of whether the
person is apprehended inside or outside the borders of the United
States;
(5) Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L. No. 112-81)
authorize:
(A) indefinite detention of persons apprehended
within the United States without charge or trial;
(B) prosecution by military tribunals under the
law of war for persons apprehended within the United States; and
(C) transfer of persons apprehended within the
United States to foreign jurisdictions;
(6) in authorizing the actions described by
Subdivision (5) of this subsection, Sections 1021 and 1022 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L.
No. 112-81) are inimical to the liberty, security, and well-being
of the citizens of the State of Texas by violating:
(A) the Texas Constitution;
(B) the limits of federal power authorized by
Article I, Section 8, United States Constitution;
(C) the legal doctrine of Posse Comitatus under
18 U.S.C. Section 1385 by authorizing the armed forces of the United
States to police the United States; and
(D) the following provisions of the United States
Constitution:
(i) Article I, Section 9, Clause 2
(ensuring the right to seek a habeas corpus);
(ii) the First Amendment (ensuring the
right to petition the federal government for the redress of
grievances);
(iii) the Fourth Amendment (ensuring the
right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure);
(iv) the Fifth Amendment (requiring capital
or infamous crimes to be brought before a grand jury before charging
the defendant and prohibiting deprivation of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law);
(v) the Sixth Amendment (ensuring the right
to a speedy trial by an impartial jury in the state or district
where the offense was alleged to have been committed, the right to
be informed of the nature and cause of accusations and charges
levied, the right to retain legal counsel, and the right to confront
witnesses);
(vi) the Eighth Amendment (prohibiting
excessive bail and fines and prohibiting cruel and unusual
punishment); and
(vii) the Fourteenth Amendment
(prohibiting deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due
process of law); and
(7) the actions described by Subdivision (5) of this
subsection as authorized by Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L. No.
112-81), and the enforcement of those actions, are illegal within
this state.
SECTION 2. Chapter 421, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER G. TEXAS LIBERTY PRESERVATION ACT
Sec. 421.101. CERTAIN PORTIONS OF THE FEDERAL NATIONAL
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2012 INVALID. Sections 1021 and 1022
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
(Pub. L. No. 112-81) violate portions of federal law, the United
States Constitution, and the Texas Constitution and, as such, are
invalid and illegal in this state.
Sec. 421.102. POLICY; VIOLATION OF SUBCHAPTER. It is the
policy of this state to refuse to provide material support for or to
participate in any way with the implementation within this state of
Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L. No. 112-81). Any act to enforce or
attempt to enforce those laws is in violation of this subchapter.
Sec. 421.103. OFFENSES; PENALTIES. (a) A person who is an
official, agent, or employee of the United States or an employee of
a corporation providing services to the United States commits an
offense if the person enforces or attempts to enforce a statute, a
rule or regulation, an order, or any law of the United States in
violation of this subchapter.
(b) An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor
punishable by confinement for a term not to exceed one year, a fine
of not more than $10,000, or both the confinement and the fine.
(c) A person who is a public officer or employee of this
state commits an offense if that person enforces or attempts to
enforce a statute, a rule or regulation, an order, or any law of the
United States in violation of this subchapter.
(d) An offense under Subsection (c) is a Class B misdemeanor
punishable by confinement for a term not to exceed 180 days, a fine
of not more than $5,000, or both the confinement and the fine.
Sec. 421.104. REPORT. The Texas Department of Public
Safety shall report to the governor and the legislature any attempt
by the federal government to implement Section 1021 or 1022 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L.
No. 112-81) through the Texas Department of Public Safety or
another state agency.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.