88R9775 JCG-F
By: Clardy H.B. No. 3711
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an interstate compact on border security and refugee
resettlement; authorizing fines, fees, and assessments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 7, Government Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 794 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 794. INTERSTATE COMPACT FOR BORDER SECURITY AND REFUGEE
RESETTLEMENT
Sec. 794.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Alien" means an individual who is not a United
States citizen or United States national.
(2) "Border security" means the security of a border
at which only those authorized to cross the border can do so and at
which every illegal crossing event between the legal ports of entry
is detected and stopped.
(3) "Bylaws" means those bylaws established by the
commission for its governance or those rules constructed for
directing or controlling the commission's actions or conduct.
(4) "Commission" means the Interstate Border Security
and Refugee Resettlement Commission.
(5) "Commissioner" means the voting representative of
each compacting state appointed under the compact.
(6) "Compact" means the Interstate Compact for Border
Security and Refugee Resettlement executed under Section 794.002.
(7) "Compacting state" means any state that has
enacted the enabling legislation for this interstate compact.
(8) "Illegal alien" means an alien located in a
compacting state who is deportable under Clause 4, Section 8,
Article I, United States Constitution, and who has entered the
United States illegally or who entered the United States legally,
but who remains in the United States without authorization.
(9) "Rules" means acts of the commission adopted under
Article VI of the compact and substantially affecting interested
parties that have the force of law in the compacting states.
Sec. 794.002. EXECUTION OF COMPACT. This state enacts the
Interstate Compact for Border Security and Refugee Resettlement and
enters into the compact with all other states legally joining in the
compact in substantially the following form:
INTERSTATE COMPACT FOR BORDER SECURITY AND REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT
ARTICLE I. PURPOSE
(a) The compacting states recognize that each state is
responsible for the monitoring, detection, apprehension, and
detainment of unauthorized border crossers to enforce existing
federal immigration law.
(b) The compacting states are authorized to form a dedicated
border security force with each state having an appropriate command
structure. Each compacting state's border security force shall be
administered by state law enforcement functions.
(c) The compacting states are authorized to prosecute
illegal alien criminal activity through the state attorneys general
of the compacting states and incarcerate those convicted in prisons
operated by the compacting states.
(d) The border security forces from any compacting state may
operate in any other compacting state's territory when requested by
that state. Interstate sharing of state resources extends to both
personnel and equipment resources. Cross-state operations and
support are authorized for state militias, organized and
unorganized as defined by 10 U.S.C. Section 311, employed in a state
border security role.
(e) The compacting states will immediately invalidate any
restrictions placed on border enforcement activities under federal
regulations administered by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, and
any other federal agencies with the purpose of restricting land and
airspace access to compacting state officials and their law
enforcement agencies.
(f) The border security forces of each compacting state
while bound by the laws of that state are vested with broad law
enforcement powers necessary to track down illegal border crossers
and criminals and to enforce existing federal immigration laws. If
a majority of the governors of the compacting states have declared
an invasion under Section 10, Article I, United States
Constitution, the border security forces of the compacting states
may take any action necessary to repel an individual attempting to
make an unlawful entry into a compacting state.
(g) A compacting state's border security forces are
granted, in accordance with the state's law, the authority to open
and operate as many checkpoints, including floating checkpoints,
along identified choke points with access to the interior of the
United States as are needed to identify and apprehend illegal
aliens.
(h) It is the purpose of this compact and the commission
created under this compact, through means of joint and cooperative
action among the compacting states to:
(1) provide operational control and border security
for international United States borders and coastlines adjacent to
compacting state borders;
(2) provide internal immigration enforcement within
the compacting states' borders;
(3) provide support to other compacting states if
illegal alien activity evolves into a specific threat to one or more
compacting states;
(4) equitably distribute the costs, benefits, and
obligations of the compact among the compacting states;
(5) ensure notification from the federal government at
least 60 days before the date refugees are resettled in a compacting
state, including access by a compacting state to vetting
information, security screening, in-person interviews, and health
assessments of refugees;
(6) establish a compacting state's right to refuse a
refugee offered by the federal government for resettlement in the
state;
(7) establish a refugee resettlement tracking program
among compacting states that:
(A) collects information on resettled refugees,
including the refugees' country of origin, historical and family
information, crime history, entry routes, fingerprints, and DNA
samples; and
(B) contains the information collected by
screening processes before a refugee arrives in the compacting
state at least 60 days before the refugee's arrival;
(8) establish the compacting state's authority to
revoke refugee status from a refugee:
(A) who is convicted of a felony and, after the
appropriate sentence is served, hold the former refugee for
immediate return to the former refugee's country of origin; or
(B) who does not seek naturalization as provided
by Subdivision (12);
(9) establish a comprehensive assimilation education
program that tracks the assimilation of refugees in accordance with
United States laws, history, and culture;
(10) abolish the private agencies, operations, and
authorities in the compacting states performing refugee
resettlement functions and reapportion the federal contract funds
provided to those entities to the compacting states assuming those
functions;
(11) establish standing for any legal action or brief
submitted to a federal court demanding injunctive relief from
federal executive orders that:
(A) are not in the best interests of the
compacting states; or
(B) do not comply with Clause 4, Section 8,
Article I, or Clause 2, Article VI, United States Constitution; and
(12) establish a uniform time frame for revoking
refugee status from a refugee in a compacting state who does not
seek naturalization.
(i) In addition, this compact is intended to create a
commission that will establish uniform procedures to manage joint
activities of the compacting states and the execution of support
activities and resources between and among the compacting states,
to establish a system of uniform tracking and data collection, to
provide intelligence to other compacting states regarding illegal
immigration activity within each state, to access information on
active cases by authorized criminal justice officials, and to
provide regular reporting to governors of the compacting states,
state legislatures, and the Secretary of the United States
Department of Homeland Security.
(j) It is the policy of the compacting states that the
activities of the commission are intended to foster public safety
and formulate public policy. Therefore, the commission is subject
to public sunshine laws in each compacting state.
ARTICLE II. INTERSTATE BORDER SECURITY AND REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT
COMMISSION
(a) The compacting states hereby create the Interstate
Border Security and Refugee Resettlement Commission. The
commission is a body corporate and joint agency of the compacting
states. The commission has all the responsibilities, powers, and
duties set forth in this compact, including the authority to sue and
be sued and additional powers as may be conferred on it by
subsequent action of the respective legislatures of the compacting
states in accordance with the terms of this compact.
(b) The commission consists of commissioners selected and
appointed by each compacting state with qualifications, terms, and
conditions for removal determined by the appointing state. The
commission's bylaws may provide for additional nonvoting members as
it considers necessary.
(c) Each compacting state represented at any meeting of the
commission is entitled to one vote. A majority of the compacting
states shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business,
unless a larger quorum is required by the bylaws of the commission.
(d) The commission shall meet at least once each calendar
year. The chair may call additional meetings and, on the request of
a majority of compacting states, shall call additional meetings.
Public notice must be given of all meetings, and meetings are open
to the public, except as provided in Article V of the compact.
Public notice of meetings must include posting of meeting details
on the commission's website and the websites of compacting states.
(e) The commission shall establish and provide procedures
for the appointment of an executive committee that includes
commission officers, members, and others as determined by the
bylaws. The procedures must address qualifications and terms for
the executive committee. The executive committee has the power to
act on behalf of the commission during periods when the commission
is not in session, with the exception of rulemaking or amendment to
the compact. The executive committee oversees the day-to-day
activities managed by the executive director. Commission staff
administers enforcement and compliance with the compact and its
bylaws and rules and performs other duties, as directed by the
commission or set forth in the bylaws and rules.
ARTICLE III. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE INTERSTATE BORDER SECURITY
AND REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT COMMISSION
The commission has the following powers:
(1) to adopt a seal and suitable bylaws governing the
management and operation of the commission;
(2) to adopt rules in compliance with the compacting
states' laws that have the force and effect of statutory law and are
binding in the compacting states to the extent and in the manner
provided in this compact;
(3) to enforce compliance with the compact and the
rules and bylaws of the commission, using all necessary and proper
means, including the use of judicial process;
(4) to establish and maintain offices;
(5) to purchase and maintain insurance and bonds;
(6) to borrow, accept, or contract for the services of
personnel, including members and their staffs;
(7) to establish and appoint committees and hire staff
that it considers necessary to carry out its functions, including
an executive committee as required by Article II of the compact;
(8) to elect or appoint officers, attorneys,
employees, agents, or consultants, and to fix their compensation,
define their duties, and determine their qualifications, and to
establish the commission's personnel policies and programs,
including policies and programs relating to conflicts of interest,
rates of compensation, and qualifications of personnel;
(9) to accept, receive, use, and dispose of donations
and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and services;
(10) to lease, purchase, or accept contributions or
donations of any property, or otherwise own, hold, improve, or use
any property, whether real, personal, or mixed;
(11) to sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease,
exchange, abandon, or otherwise dispose of any property, whether
real, personal, or mixed;
(12) to establish a budget and make expenditures and
impose assessments as provided in Article VIII of the compact;
(13) to sue and be sued;
(14) to provide for dispute resolution among
compacting states;
(15) to perform any function necessary or appropriate
to achieve the purposes of this compact;
(16) to report annually to the compacting states'
governors and legislatures and the Secretary of the United States
Department of Homeland Security concerning the activities of the
commission during the preceding year, including any
recommendations that may have been adopted by the commission;
(17) to coordinate education, training, and public
awareness regarding border security and immigration enforcement
for officials involved in that activity; and
(18) to establish uniform standards for the reporting,
collecting, and exchanging of data.
ARTICLE IV. ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION OF THE COMMISSION
(a) The commission shall, by a majority of its members, not
later than a year after the first commission meeting, adopt bylaws
to govern its conduct as may be necessary or appropriate to carry
out the purposes of the compact, including:
(1) establishing the fiscal year of the commission;
(2) establishing an executive committee and other
committees as may be necessary;
(3) providing reasonable standards and procedures:
(A) for the establishment of committees; and
(B) governing any general or specific delegation
of any authority or function of the commission;
(4) providing reasonable procedures for calling and
conducting meetings of the commission and ensuring reasonable
notice of each meeting;
(5) establishing the titles and responsibilities of
the officers of the commission;
(6) providing reasonable standards and procedures for
the establishment of the personnel policies and programs of the
commission, notwithstanding any civil service laws or other similar
laws of any compacting state;
(7) providing a mechanism for decommissioning the
operations of the commission and the equitable return of any
surplus funds that may exist on the termination of the compact,
after the payment or reserve of funds needed to retire all of the
commission's debts and obligations;
(8) providing transition rules for establishing the
administration of the compact; and
(9) establishing standards and procedures for
compliance and technical assistance in carrying out the compact.
(b) The commission shall, by a majority of the members,
elect from among its members a chair and a vice chair, each of whom
shall have the authorities and duties as may be specified in the
bylaws. The chair, or in the chair's absence or disability, the
vice chair, shall preside at all meetings of the commission. The
officers shall serve without compensation or remuneration from the
commission, provided that, subject to the availability of budgeted
funds, the officers shall be reimbursed for any actual and
necessary costs and expenses incurred by them in the performance of
their duties and responsibilities as officers of the commission.
(c) The commission shall, through its executive committee,
appoint or retain an executive director for the period, on the
terms, and for the compensation the commission considers
appropriate. The executive director shall serve as secretary to
the commission and shall hire and supervise other staff as may be
authorized by the commission, but may not be a member of the
commission.
(d) The commission shall maintain its corporate books and
records in accordance with the bylaws.
(e) The commission shall defend the commissioner of a
compacting state, the commissioner's representatives or employees,
or the commission's representatives or employees in any civil
action seeking to impose liability arising out of any actual or
alleged act, error, or omission that occurred within the scope of
commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, or that the
defendant had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the
scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities,
provided that the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not
result from intentional wrongdoing on the part of the person.
(f) The commission shall indemnify and hold the
commissioner of a compacting state, the appointed representatives
or employees, or the commission's representatives or employees
harmless in the amount of any settlement or judgment obtained
against those persons arising out of any actual or alleged act,
error, or omission that occurred within the scope of commission
employment, duties, or responsibilities, or that those persons had
a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of
commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, provided that
the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not result from
intentional wrongdoing on the part of those persons.
ARTICLE V. COMMISSION ACTIVITIES
(a) The commission shall meet and take actions as are
consistent with the provisions of this compact.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this compact and unless
a greater percentage is required under the bylaws, in order to
constitute an act of the commission, the act must have been taken at
a meeting of the commission and must have received an affirmative
vote of a majority of the members present.
(c) Each member of the commission shall have the authority
and power to cast a vote to which that compacting state is entitled
and to participate in the business and affairs of the commission. A
member shall vote in person on behalf of the compacting state and
may not delegate a vote to another compacting state. However, a
member may designate another individual, in the absence of the
member, to cast a vote on behalf of the member at a specified
meeting. The bylaws may provide for members' participation in
meetings by telephone or other means of telecommunication or
electronic communication. Any voting conducted by telephone or
other means of telecommunication or electronic communication shall
be subject to the same quorum requirements of meetings where
members are present in person and to the same requirements of open
meetings as determined by Subsection (e).
(d) The commission's bylaws shall establish conditions and
procedures under which the commission shall make its information
and official records available to the public for inspection or
copying. The commission may exempt from disclosure any information
or official records to the extent the information or records would
adversely affect personal privacy rights or proprietary interests.
In adopting those rules, the commission may make available to law
enforcement agencies records and information otherwise exempt from
disclosure, and may enter into agreements with law enforcement
agencies to receive or exchange information or records subject to
nondisclosure and confidentiality provisions.
(e) The commission shall adopt rules consistent with the
principles contained in the Government in the Sunshine Act (5
U.S.C. Section 552b). The commission and any of its committees may
close a meeting to the public when the commission determines by
two-thirds vote that an open meeting would be likely to:
(1) relate solely to the commission's internal
personnel practices and procedures;
(2) disclose matters specifically exempted from
disclosure by statute;
(3) disclose trade secrets or commercial or financial
information that is privileged or confidential;
(4) involve accusing any person of a crime or formally
censuring any person;
(5) disclose information of a personal nature when the
disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy;
(6) disclose investigatory records compiled for law
enforcement purposes;
(7) disclose information contained in or related to
examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, or on
behalf of or for the use of, the commission with respect to a
regulated entity for the purpose of regulation or supervision of
the entity;
(8) disclose information when the premature
disclosure would significantly endanger the life of a person or the
stability of a regulated entity; or
(9) specifically relate to the commission's issuance
of a subpoena or its participation in a civil action or proceeding.
(f) For every meeting closed under Subsection (e), the
commission's chief legal officer shall publicly certify that, in
the officer's opinion, the meeting may be closed to the public and
shall make reference to each relevant provision authorizing closure
of the meeting. The commission shall keep minutes that fully and
clearly describe all matters discussed in any meeting and shall
provide a full and accurate summary of any action taken and the
reasons for the action, including a description of each of the views
expressed on any item and the record of any roll call vote. All
documents considered in connection with any action shall be
identified in the minutes.
(g) The commission shall collect standardized data
concerning the interstate movement and activity of illegal aliens
within the compacting states as directed through its bylaws and
rules, which specify the data to be collected, the means of
collection, data exchange, and reporting requirements.
ARTICLE VI. RULEMAKING FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION
(a) The commission shall adopt rules:
(1) to effectively and efficiently achieve the
purposes of the compact, including transition rules governing
administration of the compact during the period in which it is being
considered and enacted by the states; and
(2) under criteria set forth in this article and the
bylaws and rules adopted under this article.
(b) Rulemaking must substantially conform to the principles
of the federal Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. Section 551
et seq.) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. Appendix,
Section 1 et seq.). All rules and amendments shall become binding
as of the date specified in the rule or amendment.
(c) If a majority of the legislatures of the compacting
states rejects a rule, by enactment of a statute or resolution in
the same manner used to adopt the compact, the rule has no further
force and effect in any compacting state.
(c-1) If a compacting state rejects a rule by enacting a
statute or resolution, the rule has no further force and effect in
that compacting state.
(d) When adopting a rule, the commission shall:
(1) publish the proposed rule, stating with
particularity the text of the rule that is proposed and the reason
for the proposed rule;
(2) allow persons to submit written data, facts,
opinions, and arguments that will be publicly available;
(3) provide an opportunity for an informal hearing;
and
(4) adopt a final rule and its effective date, if
appropriate, based on the rulemaking record.
(e) Not later than the 60th day after the date a rule is
adopted, an interested person may file a petition in the United
States District Court for the District of Columbia or in the federal
district court where the commission's principal office is located
for judicial review of the rule. If the court finds that the
commission's action is not supported by substantial evidence in the
rulemaking record, the court shall hold the rule unlawful and set it
aside. For purposes of this subsection, evidence is substantial if
it would be considered substantial evidence under the federal
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. Section 551 et seq.) and the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. Appendix, Section 1 et
seq.).
(f) On determination by the commission that an emergency
exists, the commission may adopt an emergency rule that is
effective immediately on adoption, provided that the usual
rulemaking procedures provided in this article shall be
retroactively applied to said rule as soon as reasonably possible,
but not later than the 90th day after the effective date of the
rule.
ARTICLE VII. OVERSIGHT, ENFORCEMENT, AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
BY THE COMMISSION
(a) The commission shall oversee the interstate movement of
illegal aliens in compacting states and the resettlement of
refugees in compacting states and shall monitor those activities
being administered in non-compacting states that may significantly
affect compacting states.
(b) The courts and executive agencies in each compacting
state shall enforce this compact and shall take all action
necessary and appropriate to effectuate the compact's purposes and
intent. In any judicial or administrative proceeding in a
compacting state pertaining to the subject matter of this compact
that may affect the powers, responsibilities, or actions of the
commission, the commission is entitled to receive all service of
process in any of those proceedings and has standing to intervene in
those proceedings for all purposes.
(c) The compacting states shall report to the commission on
issues or activities of concern to them and cooperate with and
support the commission in the discharge of its duties and
responsibilities.
(d) The commission shall attempt to resolve any disputes or
other issues that are subject to the compact and that may arise
among compacting states and non-compacting states. The commission
shall enact a bylaw or adopt a rule providing for both mediation and
binding dispute resolution for disputes among the compacting
states.
(e) The commission, in the reasonable exercise of its
discretion, shall enforce the provisions of this compact using the
means set forth in Subsections (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j) of
Article X of the compact.
ARTICLE VIII. FINANCE
(a) The commission shall pay or provide for the payment of
the reasonable expenses of its establishment, organization, and
ongoing activities.
(b) The commission shall impose and collect an annual
assessment from each compacting state to cover the cost of the
internal operations and activities of the commission and its staff,
in a total amount sufficient to cover the commission's annual
budget as approved each year. The aggregate annual assessment
amount shall be allocated based on a formula to be determined by the
commission, taking into consideration the population of illegal
aliens in the state, the magnitude of illegal alien smuggling and
criminal activity, the miles of international border in each
compacting state, and the number of refugees resettled in the
state. The commission shall adopt a rule that governs the
assessment and is binding on all compacting states.
(c) The commission may not incur any obligation of any kind
before securing the funds adequate to meet the same, and the
commission may not pledge the credit of a compacting state, except
by and with the authority of the compacting state.
(d) The commission shall keep accurate accounts of all
receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disbursements of the
commission are subject to the audit and accounting procedures
established under its bylaws. However, all receipts and
disbursements of funds handled by the commission shall be audited
yearly by a certified or licensed public accountant, and the report
of the audit shall be included in and become part of the annual
report of the commission.
ARTICLE IX. COMPACTING STATES, EFFECTIVE DATE, AND AMENDMENT
(a) Any state is eligible to become a compacting state.
(b) The compact is effective and binding on legislative
enactment of the compact into law by not fewer than two of the 50
states. After enactment by two states, the compact is effective and
binding as to any additional compacting state on:
(1) approval of a majority of the compacting states;
and
(2) enactment of the compact into law by that state.
(c) The governors of non-compacting states or their
designees may be invited to participate in commission activities on
a nonvoting basis before adoption of the compact by other states.
(d) Amendments to the compact may be proposed by the
commission for enactment by the compacting states. An amendment is
not effective and binding on the commission and the compacting
states until it is enacted into law by unanimous consent of the
compacting states.
ARTICLE X. WITHDRAWAL, DEFAULT, TERMINATION, AND JUDICIAL
ENFORCEMENT
(a) Once effective, the compact shall continue in force and
remain binding on a compacting state, provided that a compacting
state may withdraw from the compact by specifically repealing the
statute that enacted the compact into law. The effective date of
withdrawal is the effective date of the repeal of the statute that
enacted the compact into law.
(b) The withdrawing state shall immediately notify in
writing the chair of the commission of the introduction of
legislation repealing this compact in the legislature of the
withdrawing state. The commission shall notify the other
compacting states of the withdrawing state's intent to withdraw not
later than the 60th day after the date of receipt of the written
notice.
(c) The withdrawing state is responsible for all
assessments, obligations, and liabilities incurred through the
effective date of withdrawal, including any obligation the
performance of which extends beyond the effective date of
withdrawal.
(d) Reinstatement of a previously withdrawn compacting
state occurs on the withdrawing state reenacting the compact or on a
later date as determined by the commission.
(e) If the commission determines that any compacting state
has at any time defaulted in the performance of any of its
obligations or responsibilities under this compact, or the bylaws
or rules of the commission, the commission may impose any or all of
the following penalties:
(1) fines, fees, and costs in amounts as are
considered reasonable as fixed by the commission;
(2) remedial training and technical assistance as
directed by the commission; or
(3) suspension and termination of membership in the
compact.
(f) Suspension of a compacting state may be imposed only
after all other reasonable means of securing compliance under the
bylaws and rules have been exhausted. Immediate notice of
suspension shall be given by the commission to the governor, the
chief justice or chief judicial officer of the defaulting state,
the presiding officers of the defaulting state's legislature, and
the defaulting state's attorney general.
(g) The grounds for default include failure of a compacting
state to perform obligations or responsibilities imposed on it by
this compact or the commission's bylaws or rules. Pending a cure of
the default, the commission shall immediately notify in writing the
defaulting state of the penalty imposed by the commission. The
commission shall stipulate the conditions and the time within which
the defaulting state must cure its default. If the defaulting state
fails to cure the default within the time specified by the
commission, in addition to any other penalties imposed, the
defaulting state may be terminated from the compact on an
affirmative vote of a majority of the compacting states, and all
rights, privileges, and benefits conferred by this compact shall be
terminated from the effective date of suspension. Not later than
the 60th day after the effective date of termination of a defaulting
state, the commission shall notify the governor, the chief justice
or chief judicial officer of the defaulting state, the presiding
officers of the defaulting state's legislature, and the defaulting
state's attorney general.
(h) The defaulting state is responsible for all
assessments, obligations, and liabilities incurred through the
effective date of termination, including any obligation the
performance of which extends beyond the effective date of
termination.
(i) The commission may not bear any cost relating to the
defaulting state unless otherwise mutually agreed on between the
commission and the defaulting state. Reinstatement following
termination of any compacting state requires both a reenactment of
the compact by the defaulting state and the approval of the
commission under the rules.
(j) The commission may, by majority vote of the members,
initiate legal action in the United States District Court for the
District of Columbia or, at the discretion of the commission, in the
federal district court where the commission has its principal
office, to enforce compliance with the provisions of the compact or
its rules or bylaws against any compacting state in default. In the
event judicial enforcement is necessary, the prevailing party shall
be awarded all costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney's
fees.
(k) The compact dissolves effective on the date of the
withdrawal or default of the compacting state that reduces
membership in the compact to one compacting state.
(l) On the dissolution of the compact, the compact becomes
void and is of no further force or effect, the business and affairs
of the commission are concluded, and any surplus funds shall be
distributed in accordance with the bylaws.
ARTICLE XI. SEVERABILITY AND CONSTRUCTION
(a) The provisions of this compact shall be severable, and
if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision is considered
unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the compact shall be
enforceable.
(b) The provisions of this compact shall be liberally
construed to effectuate its purposes.
ARTICLE XII. BINDING EFFECT OF COMPACT AND OTHER LAWS
(a) This compact does not prevent the enforcement of any
other law of a compacting state that is not inconsistent with this
compact.
(b) All agreements between the commission and the
compacting states are binding in accordance with their terms.
(c) On the request of a party to a conflict over the meaning
or interpretation of a commission action, and on a majority vote of
the compacting states, the commission may issue an advisory opinion
regarding the meaning or interpretation.
(d) In the event any provision of this compact exceeds the
constitutional limits imposed on the legislature of any compacting
state, the obligations, duties, powers, or jurisdiction sought to
be conferred by the provision on the commission is ineffective and
the obligations, duties, powers, or jurisdiction remains in the
compacting state and is exercised by the agency of the compacting
state to which the obligations, duties, powers, or jurisdiction is
delegated by law in effect at the time this compact becomes
effective.
Sec. 794.003. EFFECT ON STATE LAWS. If the laws of this
state conflict with the compact or a rule adopted under the compact,
the compact or rule controls, except that if a conflict exists
between the compact or rule and the state constitution, as
determined by the courts of this state, the state constitution
controls.
Sec. 794.004. COMMISSIONER. (a) The governor shall
appoint a commissioner to be responsible for administration and
management of this state's participation in the compact.
(b) If the commissioner is unable to attend a specific
meeting of the commission, the governor shall delegate voting
authority for that meeting to another individual from this state.
(c) The commissioner serves at the will of the governor.
SECTION 2. 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, 2023.