By: Blanco, et al. S.B. No. 1133
(In the Senate - Filed February 23, 2023; March 9, 2023,
read first time and referred to Committee on Border Security;
March 29, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; March 29, 2023,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE VOTE YeaNayAbsent PNVBirdwell X Flores X Blanco X Hinojosa X King X COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1133 By: Flores
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a grant program to compensate landowners for property
damage caused by certain criminal activities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 1, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended
by adding Chapter 56C to read as follows:
CHAPTER 56C. GRANT PROGRAM FOR LANDOWNER COMPENSATION FOR PROPERTY
DAMAGE CAUSED BY CERTAIN CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES
Art. 56C.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Agricultural land" includes any land the use of
which qualifies the land for appraisal based on agricultural use as
defined under Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code.
(2) "Border crime" means conduct constituting an
offense listed in Article 56C.002(a)(1), (2), or (3) and involving
transnational criminal activity.
(3) "Trespasser" has the meaning assigned by Section
75.007, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
Art. 56C.002. GRANT PROGRAM. (a) From money appropriated
for the purpose, the attorney general shall establish and
administer a grant program to compensate landowners who suffer
property damage on agricultural land caused by a trespasser as a
result of an offense under Chapter 28, Penal Code, that was
committed in the course of or in furtherance of an offense under:
(1) Subchapter D, Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code;
(2) Section 20.05 or 38.04, Penal Code; or
(3) Chapter 20A, Penal Code.
(b) The attorney general shall establish:
(1) eligibility criteria for grant applicants;
(2) grant application procedures;
(3) criteria for evaluating grant applications and
awarding grants;
(4) guidelines related to grant amounts, provided that
the maximum amount awarded per grant may not exceed $100,000; and
(5) procedures for monitoring the use of a grant
awarded under this article and ensuring compliance with any
conditions of the grant.
(c) The eligibility criteria established under Subsection
(b)(1) must include a requirement that the applicant reported the
property damage to an appropriate law enforcement agency promptly
after discovering the damage.
(d) In awarding a grant under this article, the attorney
general:
(1) shall give priority to:
(A) applicants who suffered property damage as a
result of an offense that was committed in the course of or in
furtherance of a border crime; and
(B) applicants who suffered damage to
structures, including fences, on the agricultural land; and
(2) may not consider the outcome of any criminal
prosecution arising out of the offense under Chapter 28, Penal
Code, as a result of which the applicant suffered property damage or
the applicable offense listed in Subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3).
Art. 56C.003. ANNUAL REPORT. Not later than the 100th day
after the end of each state fiscal year, the attorney general shall
submit to the governor and the legislature a report on the attorney
general's activities under this chapter during the preceding fiscal
year that includes the following information, disaggregated by each
offense listed in Articles 56C.002(a)(1), (2), and (3):
(1) the number of grant applications made;
(2) the number of grants awarded; and
(3) the amount of grant money distributed.
Art. 56C.004. PAYER OF LAST RESORT. The grant program
established under Article 56C.002 is a payer of last resort for
property damage described by that article.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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