2015S0400-1 03/05/15
By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1354
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to state border security activities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.0203 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.0203. SOUTH TEXAS BORDER CRIME INFORMATION CENTER.
(a) The department, with assistance from a municipal police
department and a county sheriff's department, shall establish and
operate the South Texas Border Crime Information Center as a
central repository of information relating to criminal activity in
the counties along the Texas-Mexico border. The center shall be
located in the county of the sheriff's department assisting the
department in establishing and operating the center.
(b) Each law enforcement agency in a county located along
the Texas-Mexico border shall report to the South Texas Border
Crime Information Center information regarding criminal activity
in the law enforcement agency's jurisdiction, including
information on kidnappings, home invasions, and incidents of
impersonation of law enforcement officers.
(c) The department shall make the information in the South
Texas Border Crime Information Center available to each law
enforcement agency in the state.
(d) The commission shall adopt rules concerning the
collection and distribution of sensitive law enforcement
information under this section.
(e) This section applies only to a county that:
(1) is located on the Texas-Mexico border;
(2) has a population of 750,000 or more; and
(3) is adjacent to two or more counties each of which
has a population of 50,000 or more.
SECTION 2. Section 421.0025, Government Code, is
transferred to Subchapter B, Chapter 421, Government Code,
redesignated as Section 421.0255, Government Code, and amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 421.0255 [421.0025]. BORDER SECURITY ADVISORY
COUNCIL. (a) The Border Security Advisory Council consists of:
(1) the executive head of each state agency receiving
state appropriations for purposes related to security at or near
this state's international border, or the executive head's
designee;
(2) representatives of at least three local
governmental entities receiving local border security grant
funding from the Department of Public Safety, appointed by the
governor, or, if fewer than three entities receive that grant
funding, representatives of at least one-third of the entities that
receive that grant funding, appointed by the governor; and
(3) at least three mayors of municipalities in which
state appropriations for purposes related to security at or near
this state's international border are spent, appointed by the
governor, or representatives designated by those mayors [members
appointed by the governor].
[(a-1) At least one-third of the members appointed under
Subsection (a) must be residents of the Texas-Mexico border region,
as defined by Section 2056.002.]
(b) The Border Security Advisory Council shall develop and
recommend to the Homeland Security Council [office of the governor]
performance standards, reporting requirements, audit methods, and
other procedures to ensure that funds allocated [by the office of
the governor] for purposes related to security at or near this
state's international border are used properly and that the
recipients of the funds are accountable for the proper use of the
funds. The advisory council shall publish on the office of the
governor's website the recommendations made to the Homeland
Security Council under this subsection.
(c) The Border Security Advisory Council shall advise the
Homeland Security Council [office of the governor] regarding the
allocation of funds [by the office] for purposes related to
security at or near this state's international border.
Recommendations relating to the allocation of those funds must be
made by a majority of the members of the advisory council.
(d) The governor shall designate one member of the Border
Security Advisory Council as the chair. The chair shall arrange
meetings of the Border Security Advisory Council at times
determined by the members of the advisory council.
(e) The meetings of the Border Security Advisory Council are
subject to the requirements of Chapter 551 to the same extent as
similar meetings of the Public Safety Commission. The plans and
recommendations of the Border Security Advisory Council are subject
to the requirements of Chapter 552 to the same extent as similar
plans and recommendations of the Department of Public Safety of the
State of Texas.
(f) Service on the Border Security Advisory Council by a
state officer or employee or by an officer or employee of a local
government is an additional duty of the member's office or
employment.
SECTION 3. Section 421.026, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 421.026. REPORT. The council shall annually submit to
the governor a report stating:
(1) the status and funding of state programs designed
to detect and deter homeland security emergencies, including the
status and funding of counterterrorism efforts;
(2) recommendations on actions to reduce threats to
homeland security, including threats related to terrorism; [and]
(3) recommendations for improving the alert,
response, and recovery capabilities of state and local agencies;
and
(4) an assessment of the performance of, reporting
requirements for, and allocation of state agency funding for this
state's border security activities.
SECTION 4. (a) The positions of the members of the Border
Security Council are abolished on the effective date of this Act.
(b) As soon as practicable on or after the effective date of
this Act, the governor shall appoint members of the Border Security
Advisory Council under Sections 421.0255(a)(2) and (3), Government
Code, as transferred, redesignated, and amended by this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.