By: Perry, Campbell, Hall S.B. No. 185
(In the Senate - Filed November 17, 2014; January 27, 2015,
read first time and referred to Subcommittee on Border Security;
April 6, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute to Committee on Veteran Affairs and Military
Installations; April 13, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 3;
April 13, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 185 By: Birdwell
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the enforcement of state and federal laws governing
immigration by certain governmental entities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 370, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Section 370.0031 to read as follows:
Sec. 370.0031. LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLICY REGARDING
ENFORCEMENT OF STATE AND FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS. (a) This
section applies to the following entities:
(1) the governing body of a municipality, county, or
special district or authority, subject to Subsections (b) and (c);
(2) an officer, employee, or other body that is part of
a municipality, county, or special district or authority, including
a sheriff, municipal police department, municipal attorney, or
county attorney; and
(3) a district attorney or criminal district attorney.
(b) This section does not apply to a school district or
open-enrollment charter school. This section does not apply to the
release of information contained in education records of an
educational agency or institution, except in conformity with the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.
Section 1232g).
(c) This section does not apply to a hospital or hospital
district created under Subtitle C or D, Title 4, Health and Safety
Code, or a hospital district created under a general or special law
authorized by Article IX, Texas Constitution, to the extent that
the hospital or hospital district is providing access to or
delivering medical or health care services as required under the
following applicable federal or state laws:
(1) 42 U.S.C. Section 1395dd;
(2) 42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(v);
(3) Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Health and Safety Code;
(4) Chapter 81, Health and Safety Code; and
(5) Section 311.022, Health and Safety Code.
(d) Subsection (c) does not exclude the application of this
section to a commissioned peace officer employed by or commissioned
by a hospital or hospital district subject to Subsection (c).
(e) An entity described by Subsection (a) shall not adopt a
rule, order, ordinance, or policy under which the entity prohibits
the enforcement of the laws of this state or federal law relating to
immigrants or immigration, including the federal Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.).
(f) In compliance with Subsection (e), an entity described
by Subsection (a) shall not prohibit a person who is a commissioned
peace officer described by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure, a corrections officer, a booking clerk, a magistrate, or
a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or other
prosecuting attorney and who is employed by or otherwise under the
direction or control of the entity from doing any of the following:
(1) inquiring into the immigration status of a person
lawfully detained for the investigation of a criminal offense or
arrested;
(2) with respect to information relating to the
immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any person lawfully
detained for the investigation of a criminal offense or arrested:
(A) sending the information to or requesting or
receiving the information from United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services or United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, including information regarding a person's place of
birth;
(B) maintaining the information; or
(C) exchanging the information with another
federal, state, or local governmental entity;
(3) assisting or cooperating with a federal
immigration officer as reasonable and necessary, including
providing enforcement assistance; or
(4) permitting a federal immigration officer to enter
and conduct enforcement activities at a municipal or county jail to
enforce federal immigration laws.
(f-1) For purposes of Subsection (f), a person is not
considered lawfully detained if the sole reason for the detention
is that the person is:
(1) a victim of or witness to a criminal offense; or
(2) reporting a criminal offense.
(g) An entity described by Subsection (a) or a person
employed by or otherwise under the direction or control of the
entity may not consider race, color, language, or national origin
while enforcing the laws described by Subsection (e) except to the
extent permitted by the United States Constitution or the Texas
Constitution.
(h) Any citizen residing in the jurisdiction of an entity
described by Subsection (a) may file a complaint with the attorney
general if the citizen offers evidence to support an allegation
that the entity has adopted a rule, order, ordinance, or policy
under which the entity prohibits the enforcement of the laws
described by Subsection (e) or that the entity, by consistent
actions, prohibits the enforcement of those laws. The citizen must
include with the complaint the evidence the citizen has that
supports the complaint.
(i) If the attorney general determines that a complaint
filed under Subsection (h) against an entity described by
Subsection (a) is valid, the attorney general shall, not later than
the 10th day after the date of the determination, provide written
notification to the entity that:
(1) the complaint has been filed;
(2) the attorney general has determined that the
complaint is valid;
(3) the attorney general is authorized to file an
action to enjoin the violation if the entity does not come into
compliance with the requirements of this section on or before the
90th day after the date the notification is provided; and
(4) the entity will be denied state funds for the state
fiscal year following the year in which a final judicial
determination in an action brought under Subsection (j) is made.
(j) If the attorney general determines that a complaint
filed under Subsection (h) against an entity described by
Subsection (a) is valid, the attorney general may file a petition
for a writ of mandamus or apply for other appropriate equitable
relief in a district court in Travis County or in a county in which
the principal office of an entity described by Subsection (a) is
located to compel the entity that adopts a rule, order, ordinance,
or policy under which the local entity prohibits the enforcement of
the laws described by Subsection (e) or that, by consistent
actions, prohibits the enforcement of those laws to comply with
Subsection (e). The attorney general may recover reasonable
expenses incurred in obtaining relief under this subsection,
including court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, investigative
costs, witness fees, and deposition costs.
(k) An appeal of a suit brought under Subsection (j) is
governed by the procedures for accelerated appeals in civil cases
under the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. The appellate court
shall render its final order or judgment with the least possible
delay.
(l) An entity described by Subsection (a) may not receive
state funds if the entity adopts a rule, order, ordinance, or policy
under which the entity prohibits the enforcement of the laws
described by Subsection (e) or, by consistent actions, prohibits
the enforcement of those laws. State funds for the entity shall be
denied for the state fiscal year following the year in which a final
judicial determination in an action brought under Subsection (j) is
made that the entity has intentionally prohibited the enforcement
of the laws described by Subsection (e). The comptroller shall
adopt rules to implement this subsection uniformly among the state
agencies from which state funds are distributed to a municipality
or county.
(m) An entity described by Subsection (a) that complies with
this section may not be denied state funds, regardless of whether
the entity is a part of another entity that is in violation of this
section.
SECTION 2. The heading to Chapter 370, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 370. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO [MUNICIPAL
AND COUNTY] HEALTH AND PUBLIC SAFETY APPLYING TO MORE THAN ONE
TYPE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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 September 1, 2015.
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