By: Bernal, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Flores) H.B. No. 238
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 2023;
May 1, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Water,
Agriculture & Rural Affairs; May 19, 2023, reported favorably by
the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 19, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of migrant labor housing facilities;
changing the amount of a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
amended by amending Section 2306.933 and adding Sections 2306.934,
2306.935, 2306.936, 2306.937, 2306.938, 2306.939, and 2306.940 to
read as follows:
Sec. 2306.933. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates
this subchapter or a rule adopted under this subchapter is subject
to a civil penalty of not less than $50 for each person occupying
the migrant labor housing facility in violation of this subchapter
[$200] for each day that the violation occurs.
(b) An [The county attorney for the county in which the
violation occurred, or the attorney general, at the request of the
department, shall bring an] action [in the name of the state] to
collect a civil [the] penalty under this section may be brought by:
(1) the department through the contested case hearing
process described by Section 2306.930(b);
(2) the county attorney for the county in which the
violation occurred, or the attorney general, at the request of the
department; or
(3) a migrant agricultural worker if:
(A) a complaint regarding the violation for which
the civil penalty is sought has been submitted under Section
2306.934; and
(B) at the time the complaint described by
Paragraph (A) is submitted, the worker:
(i) lives in the migrant labor housing
facility that is the subject of the complaint; and
(ii) is not temporarily in the United
States under an H2-A visa authorized by 8 U.S.C. Section
1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a).
(c) An action to collect a civil penalty under this section
may not be brought while:
(1) a contested case hearing, brought by the
department under Section 2306.930(b) and relating to the same
migrant labor housing facility, is pending;
(2) an action for injunctive relief relating to the
same violation is pending under Section 2306.932;
(3) an action brought by a county attorney or the
attorney general and relating to the same migrant labor housing
facility is pending; or
(4) the operator of the migrant labor housing facility
that is the subject of the action is:
(A) waiting for the facility to be inspected
under Section 2306.935(c) to confirm remediation of the violation
that is the subject of the action; or
(B) providing housing at a facility under Section
2306.936(d) to which the migrant agricultural workers who occupied
the facility that is the subject of the action have been relocated.
(d) A civil penalty under this section begins accruing on
the earlier of:
(1) for a violation with a remediation period
described by Section 2306.935, the day that:
(A) the department determines based on
information submitted under Section 2306.935(b) that the operator
has failed to remedy the violation; or
(B) an inspection described by Section
2306.935(c) establishes that the migrant housing facility operator
has failed to remedy the violation; or
(2) for a violation with a remediation period
described by Section 2306.936, the 31st day following the date that
notification of the complaint is received from the department,
unless the operator has relocated under Section 2306.936(d) the
migrant agricultural workers who occupied the facility that is the
subject of the complaint.
(e) The department by rule shall adopt a penalty schedule
that increases the amount of the penalty assessed against a person
who repeatedly violates this subchapter or rules adopted under this
subchapter.
(f) A penalty collected under Subsection (b)(1) or (2) shall
be deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund and may be
appropriated only to the department for the enforcement of this
subchapter.
Sec. 2306.934. COMPLAINT; NOTICE; DISMISSAL. (a) In this
section, "designated representative" means an individual or
organization to whom a migrant agricultural worker has given
written authorization to exercise the worker's right to file a
complaint under this section.
(a-1) The department by rule shall establish a process for:
(1) the submission to the department of a complaint
regarding a migrant labor housing facility;
(2) determining whether a complaint is unfounded or
does not violate the standards adopted by the department; and
(3) the investigation, resolution, or dismissal of a
complaint submitted under Subdivision (1), including confirmation
of remediation through the methods described by Sections 2306.935
and 2306.936.
(a-2) The process established under Subsection (a-1)(1)
must allow the submission of complaints:
(1) only by:
(A) an occupant of the migrant labor housing
facility that is the subject of the complaint;
(B) a prospective occupant of the migrant labor
housing facility that is the subject of the complaint;
(C) the designated representative of a person
described by Paragraph (A) or (B); or
(D) an individual, including the owner or tenant
of an adjacent property, that has observed a clear violation of this
subchapter; and
(2) through the department's Internet website, in
person at any department office, or by telephone or written notice
to the department.
(b) Not later than the fifth day after the date on which the
department receives a complaint, the department shall notify the
operator of the migrant labor housing facility that is the subject
of the complaint. Notice under this subsection must include:
(1) the date that the complaint was received;
(2) the subject matter of the complaint;
(3) the name of each person contacted in relation to
the complaint, if any; and
(4) the timeline for remedying a complaint that is not
otherwise dismissed by the department.
(c) If the department is unable to make contact with an
operator of a migrant labor housing facility for the purpose of
serving a notification of a complaint, the department shall serve
the notification of the complaint via registered or certified mail,
return receipt requested.
(d) If the department determines that a complaint is
unfounded or does not violate the standards adopted by rule, the
department may dismiss the complaint and shall include a statement
of the reason for the dismissal in the record of the complaint. The
department shall provide timely notice of any dismissal of the
complaint, including the explanation for the dismissal, to the
operator of the migrant labor housing facility that is the subject
of the complaint.
(e) A designated representative may not be required to
reveal the name of any migrant agricultural worker on whose behalf
the representative submitted a complaint under this section if the
department reviews the written authorization establishing the
representation and verifies that the representative is authorized
to submit the complaint.
Sec. 2306.935. REMEDIATION OF COMPLAINT IN GENERAL. (a)
Subject to Section 2306.936, not later than the seventh day after
the date that notice is received under Section 2306.934, the
operator of a migrant labor housing facility shall remedy the
complaint.
(b) The department by rule shall establish a procedure by
which the operator of a migrant labor housing facility may submit
proof of remediation of a complaint through visual evidence and a
sworn affidavit.
(c) For an operator of a migrant labor housing facility who
receives notice under Section 2306.934(c) or who does not submit
proof of remediation in the manner provided by Subsection (b), the
department shall have the facility inspected as soon as possible
following the seventh day after the date that notice is received
under Section 2306.934, to ensure remediation of the complaint.
Sec. 2306.936. REMEDIATION OF COMPLAINT REGARDING CERTAIN
VIOLATIONS. (a) This section applies only to a complaint that
alleges a violation that the department determines poses an
imminent hazard or threat to the health and safety of the occupants
of the facility, including violations of rules adopted by the
department concerning sanitation.
(b) Subject to Subsection (d), not later than the 30th day
after the date that notice is received under Section 2306.934, the
operator of a migrant labor housing facility that is the subject of
a complaint described by Subsection (a) shall remedy the complaint.
(c) The department may refer a complaint described by
Subsection (a) to a local authority for immediate inspection of the
migrant labor housing facility.
(d) The department by rule shall establish a procedure for
requiring the owner of a migrant labor housing facility to relocate
or provide for the relocation to another housing facility of the
occupants of a facility that is the subject of a complaint under
Subsection (a) if the remediation of that complaint is projected to
take longer than a period of 30 days. A housing facility to which a
person is relocated under this subsection:
(1) must meet the occupancy standards adopted under
this subchapter;
(2) must be located in the same vicinity as the vacated
facility; and
(3) may not require a rent payment from a displaced
migrant agricultural worker that exceeds the rent charged for the
vacated facility.
(e) Subsection (d) does not apply to a migrant agricultural
worker who is temporarily in the United States under an H2-A visa
authorized under 8 U.S.C. Section 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a).
Sec. 2306.937. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. A person who owns,
establishes, maintains, operates, or otherwise provides a migrant
labor housing facility, a person who employs a migrant agricultural
worker who occupies a migrant labor housing facility, or a farm
labor contractor may not retaliate against a person for filing a
complaint or providing information in good faith relating to a
possible violation of this subchapter.
Sec. 2306.938. ATTORNEY'S FEES. The court in a suit brought
under this subchapter may award reasonable attorney's fees to the
prevailing party.
Sec. 2306.939. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION. (a) The
department shall identify other state agencies that may interact
with occupants of migrant housing facilities to assist the
department in identifying and locating unlicensed migrant labor
housing facilities.
(b) Information provided to the department under this
section:
(1) may be used only for the purposes of identifying
and locating unlicensed migrant labor housing facilities;
(2) must be free of identification information
relating to individual migrant agricultural workers; and
(3) is confidential and not subject to disclosure
under Chapter 552.
Sec. 2306.940. OUTREACH AND EDUCATION. (a) The department
shall provide:
(1) to migrant agricultural workers in different
regions of the state, educational materials or programs that are
presented in English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate
and that inform the workers of their rights and remedies under this
subchapter; and
(2) to persons who own, establish, maintain, operate,
procure, make arrangements for, or otherwise provide migrant labor
housing facilities, educational materials or programs that are
presented in English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate
and that inform the persons of their obligations under this
subchapter.
(b) To better provide the services described by Subsection
(a), the department shall:
(1) ensure that, in each region of the state where
migrant labor housing facilities are most common, there are persons
capable of providing the information described by Subsection (a) in
English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate; and
(2) conduct research, including by surveying migrant
agricultural workers, concerning:
(A) what types of migrant labor housing
facilities are most common in different regions of the state; and
(B) what regions of the state most need
additional or improved migrant labor housing facilities.
SECTION 2. Not later than March 1, 2024, the Texas
Department of Housing and Community Affairs shall adopt the rules
necessary to implement Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government
Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act in amending
Section 2306.933, Government Code, and adding Sections 2306.934,
2306.935, 2306.936, 2306.938, and 2306.939, Government Code,
applies only to a violation that occurs on or after the effective
date of this Act. A violation that occurs before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
violation occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose. For purposes of this section, a violation occurs
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the
violation occurs before that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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