Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB165 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R23687 JSC-D
2	2	By: Larson H.B. No. 165
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 165:
4	4	By: King of Parker C.S.H.B. No. 165
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the Texas Liberty Preservation Act; creating criminal
10	10	offenses; providing criminal penalties.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. (a) This Act shall be known as the Texas Liberty
13	13	Preservation Act.
14	14	(b) The legislature finds that:
15	15	(1) the Tenth Amendment to the United States
16	16	Constitution authorizes the United States federal government to
17	17	exercise only those powers specifically delegated to it under
18	18	Article I, Section 8, United States Constitution;
19	19	(2) the guaranty of the constitutional limitations on
20	20	federal power is a matter of contract between the several states,
21	21	including the State of Texas, and the federal government at the time
22	22	the United States Constitution was ratified and subsequently
23	23	amended by the Bill of Rights;
24	24	(3) Article VI, United States Constitution, provides
25	25	that the laws of the United States federal government are the
26	26	supreme law of the land only if those laws are adopted in accordance
27	27	with the powers delegated to the federal government in the United
28	28	States Constitution;
29	29	(4) the President of the United States has asserted
30	30	that the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Pub. L. No.
31	31	107-40), enacted in 2001, authorizes the president to indefinitely
32	32	detain, without charge, any person, including a citizen of the
33	33	United States or a lawful resident alien, regardless of whether the
34	34	person is apprehended inside or outside the borders of the United
35	35	States;
36	36	(5) Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense
37	37	Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L. No. 112-81)
38	38	authorize:
39	39	(A) indefinite detention of persons apprehended
40	40	within the United States without charge or trial;
41	41	(B) prosecution by military tribunals under the
42	42	law of war for persons apprehended within the United States; and
43	43	(C) transfer of persons apprehended within the
44	44	United States to foreign jurisdictions;
45	45	(6) in authorizing the actions described by
46	46	Subdivision (5) of this subsection, Sections 1021 and 1022 of the
47	47	National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L.
48	48	No. 112-81) are inimical to the liberty, security, and well-being
49	49	of the citizens of the State of Texas by violating:
50	50	(A) the Texas Constitution;
51	51	(B) the limits of federal power authorized by
52	52	Article I, Section 8, United States Constitution;
53	53	(C) the legal doctrine of Posse Comitatus under
54	54	18 U.S.C. Section 1385 by authorizing the armed forces of the United
55	55	States to police the United States; and
56	56	(D) the following provisions of the United States
57	57	Constitution:
58	58	(i) Article I, Section 9, Clause 2
59	59	(ensuring the right to seek a habeas corpus);
60	60	(ii) the First Amendment (ensuring the
61	61	right to petition the federal government for the redress of
62	62	grievances);
63	63	(iii) the Fourth Amendment (ensuring the
64	64	right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure);
65	65	(iv) the Fifth Amendment (requiring capital
66	66	or infamous crimes to be brought before a grand jury before charging
67	67	the defendant and prohibiting deprivation of life, liberty, or
68	68	property without due process of law);
69	69	(v) the Sixth Amendment (ensuring the right
70	70	to a speedy trial by an impartial jury in the state or district
71	71	where the offense was alleged to have been committed, the right to
72	72	be informed of the nature and cause of accusations and charges
73	73	levied, the right to retain legal counsel, and the right to confront
74	74	witnesses);
75	75	(vi) the Eighth Amendment (prohibiting
76	76	excessive bail and fines and prohibiting cruel and unusual
77	77	punishment); and
78	78	(vii) the Fourteenth Amendment
79	79	(prohibiting deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due
80	80	process of law);
81	81	(7) Section 1071(a) of the National Defense
82	82	Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Pub. L. No. 113-66)
83	83	authorizes the Secretary of Defense of the United States to create
84	84	the Conflict Records Research Center, which will establish a
85	85	database to facilitate research and analysis of records captured
86	86	from countries, organizations, and individuals "now or once hostile
87	87	to the United States";
88	88	(8) the Conflict Records Research Center has access to
89	89	information that was unconstitutionally collected by the National
90	90	Security Agency and the Department of Defense; and
91	91	(9) the actions authorized by Sections 1021 and 1022
92	92	of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
93	93	(Pub. L. No. 112-81) and Section 1071(a) of the National Defense
94	94	Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Pub. L. No. 113-66) and the
95	95	enforcement of those actions are illegal within this state.
96	96	SECTION 2. Chapter 421, Government Code, is amended by
97	97	adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
98	98	SUBCHAPTER G. TEXAS LIBERTY PRESERVATION ACT
99	99	Sec. 421.101. CERTAIN PORTIONS OF THE FEDERAL NATIONAL
100	100	DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACTS OF 2012 AND 2014 INVALID. Sections 1021
101	101	and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
102	102	2012 (Pub. L. No. 112-81) and Section 1071(a) of the National
103	103	Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Pub. L. No. 113-66)
104	104	violate portions of federal law, the United States Constitution,
105	105	and the Texas Constitution and, as such, are invalid and illegal in
106	106	this state.
107	107	Sec. 421.102. POLICY; VIOLATION OF SUBCHAPTER. It is the
108	108	policy of this state to refuse to provide material support for or to
109	109	participate in any way with the implementation within this state of
110	110	Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act
111	111	for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L. No. 112-81) or Section 1071(a) of the
112	112	National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Pub. L.
113	113	No. 113-66). Any act to enforce or attempt to enforce those laws is
114	114	in violation of this subchapter.
115	115	Sec. 421.103. OFFENSES; PENALTIES. (a) A person who is an
116	116	official or employee of the United States commits an offense if the
117	117	person enforces or attempts to enforce a statute, a rule or
118	118	regulation, an order, or any law of the United States in violation
119	119	of this subchapter.
120	120	(b) An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor
121	121	punishable by confinement for a term not to exceed one year, a fine
122	122	of not more than $10,000, or both the confinement and the fine.
123	123	(c) A person who is a public officer or employee of this
124	124	state commits an offense if that person enforces or attempts to
125	125	enforce a statute, a rule or regulation, an order, or any law of the
126	126	United States in violation of this subchapter.
127	127	(d) An offense under Subsection (c) is a Class B misdemeanor
128	128	punishable by confinement for a term not to exceed 180 days, a fine
129	129	of not more than $5,000, or both the confinement and the fine.
130	130	Sec. 421.104. REPORT. The Texas Department of Public
131	131	Safety shall report to the governor and the legislature any attempt
132	132	by the federal government to implement Section 1021 or 1022 of the
133	133	National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L.
134	134	No. 112-81) or Section 1071(a) of the National Defense
135	135	Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Pub. L. No. 113-66) through
136	136	the Texas Department of Public Safety or another state agency.
137	137	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
138	138	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
139	139	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
140	140	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
141	141	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.