85R10991 DMS-D
By: Isaac H.B. No. 3698
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the ineligibility of certain governmental entities that
prohibit or discourage the enforcement of immigration laws to
participate in and receive funds from the major events
reimbursement program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 11, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 364 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 364. ENFORCEMENT OF STATE AND FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS
Sec. 364.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Immigration detainer" means a United States
Department of Homeland Security Form I-247 or a similar or
successor form that requests a local entity to maintain temporary
custody of an alien for the federal government.
(2) "Immigration laws" means 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.).
(3) "Lawful detention" means the detention of an
individual by a local entity for the investigation of a criminal
offense. The term excludes a detention if the sole reason for the
detention is that the individual:
(A) is a victim of or witness to a criminal
offense; or
(B) is reporting a criminal offense.
(4) "Local entity" means the governing body of a
municipality or county.
(5) "Policy" includes a formal, written rule, order,
ordinance, or policy and an informal, unwritten policy.
Sec. 364.002. LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLICY REGARDING
IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT. (a) A local entity shall not adopt,
enforce, or endorse a policy under which the entity prohibits or
discourages the enforcement of immigration laws.
(b) In compliance with Subsection (a), a local entity shall
not prohibit or discourage 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
under a lawful detention or under arrest;
(2) with respect to information relating to the
immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any person under a
lawful detention or under arrest:
(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
local entity or a federal or state governmental entity;
(3) assisting or cooperating with a federal
immigration officer as reasonable or 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.
Sec. 364.003. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. A local entity 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 immigration laws except to the extent
permitted by the United States Constitution or Texas Constitution.
Sec. 364.004. COMPLAINT; EQUITABLE RELIEF. (a) Any
person, including the federal government, may file a complaint with
the attorney general if the person offers evidence to support an
allegation that a local entity has adopted, enforced, or endorsed a
policy under which the entity prohibits or discourages the
enforcement of immigration laws or that the entity, by consistent
actions, prohibits or discourages the enforcement of those laws.
The person must include with the complaint the evidence the person
has that supports the complaint.
(b) A local entity for which the attorney general has
received a complaint under Subsection (a) shall comply with a
document request, including a request for supporting documents,
from the attorney general related to the complaint.
(c) If the attorney general determines that a complaint
filed under Subsection (a) against a local entity is valid, the
attorney general shall, not later than the 10th day after the date
of the determination, provide written notification to the entity:
(1) that the complaint has been filed;
(2) that the attorney general has determined that the
complaint is valid;
(3) that 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 Section 364.002 on or before
the 90th day after the date the notification is provided; and
(4) if the local entity is the governing body of, or an
officer or employee of a municipality or county that the
municipality or county, as applicable, in which the local entity
governs or operates, or over which the local entity has
jurisdiction, will be ineligible from participation as an endorsing
municipality or endorsing county or from receipt of disbursements
from a fund described by Section 364.005(a) for a period of five
years beginning on the date a final judicial determination in an
action brought under Subsection (e) is made.
(d) Not later than the 30th day after the date a local entity
receives written notification under Subsection (c), the local
entity shall provide the attorney general with a copy of:
(1) the entity's written policies related to
immigration enforcement actions;
(2) each immigration detainer received by the entity
from the United States Department of Homeland Security; and
(3) each response sent by the entity for a detainer
described by Subdivision (2).
(e) If the attorney general determines that a complaint
filed under Subsection (a) against a local entity 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 the
entity is located to compel the entity that adopts, enforces, or
endorses a policy under which the local entity prohibits or
discourages the enforcement of immigration laws or that, by
consistent actions, prohibits or discourages the enforcement of
those laws to comply with Section 364.002. 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.
(f) An appeal of a suit brought under Subsection (e) 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.
Sec. 364.005. PARTICIPATION IN OR DISBURSEMENTS FROM MAJOR
EVENTS REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM PROHIBITED. (a) A municipality or
county may not participate as an endorsing municipality or
endorsing county under, and is ineligible for receipt of a
disbursement from a fund established under, Section 5A, Chapter
1507 (S.B. 456), Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session,
1999 (Article 5190.14, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), if a final
judicial determination in the action is made that a local entity
governing or operating in, or with jurisdiction over, the
municipality or county, as applicable, has intentionally
prohibited or discouraged the enforcement of immigration laws or,
by consistent actions, prohibits or discourages the enforcement of
immigration laws.
(b) A municipality's or county's ineligibility from
participation as an endorsing municipality or endorsing county or
receipt of disbursements under Subsection (a) expires on the fifth
anniversary of the date the final judicial determination in the
action brought under Section 364.004 is made.
SECTION 2. Section 364.005, Local Government Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to a request to the Texas Economic
Development and Tourism Office submitted by an endorsing
municipality or endorsing county for receipt of a disbursement from
a fund established under Section 5A, Chapter 1507 (S.B. 456), Acts
of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999 (Article 5190.14,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), on or after the effective date of
this Act. A request submitted by an endorsing municipality or
endorsing county before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date the request is submitted, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.