By: Lopez of Cameron H.B. No. 77
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the Texas border enforcement
coordination program; making appropriations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 421, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER G. TEXAS BORDER ENFORCEMENT COORDINATION PROGRAM
Sec. 421.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Border county" means a county that:
(A) borders the United Mexican States; or
(B) is adjacent to a county that borders the
United Mexican States.
(2) "Texas Anti-Gang Center" means a Texas Anti-Gang
Center that is wholly or partly funded through the office of the
governor.
Sec. 421.102. BORDER COUNTY SHERIFFS' LIAISON AND TEXAS
ANTI-GANG CENTERS' LIAISON. (a) The governor shall appoint the
sheriff of a border county to serve as the border county sheriffs'
liaison.
(b) The governor shall appoint the executive head of a Texas
Anti-Gang Center to serve as the Texas Anti-Gang Centers' liaison.
(c) A liaison appointed under Subsection (a) or (b) serves a
two-year term.
(d) A liaison appointed under Subsection (a) or (b) may
designate another individual to act as the liaison.
(e) Each liaison appointed under this section shall work
with each other and with the following individual and entities
regarding interagency coordination, communication, and cooperation
on border enforcement-related matters and activities:
(1) the Special Advisor to the Governor on Border
Matters;
(2) the Texas Department of Public Safety;
(3) the Texas Military Department; and
(4) the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
Sec. 421.103. INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM. Each
sheriff's department for a border county and each Texas Anti-Gang
Center shall, with money appropriated by the state, acquire the
technology necessary to implement, and shall implement, a
multimedia interoperable communication system that enables
real-time communication and sharing of information between:
(1) each sheriff's department for a border county;
(2) each Texas Anti-Gang Center;
(3) the Texas Department of Public Safety;
(4) the Texas Military Department; and
(5) the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
Sec. 421.104. TEXAS BORDER ENFORCEMENT VOLUNTEER PROGRAM.
(a) This section applies only to a sheriff's department for a
county that borders the United Mexican States.
(b) The sheriff of each county to which this section applies
shall establish and supervise in the county the Texas border
enforcement volunteer program.
(c) The sheriff shall appoint volunteers for the program to:
(1) assist the sheriff's department in monitoring the
portion of the Texas-Mexico border adjacent to the county;
(2) identify the unlawful entry of individuals or
objects at a location other than a port of entry; and
(3) communicate the location of the unlawful entry and
other information necessary to assist the sheriff's department in
arresting or detaining the individual or interdicting the object.
(d) The sheriff may not appoint an individual to be a
volunteer unless the individual:
(1) has been a resident of the county for at least the
four years preceding the date of appointment;
(2) has not been convicted of a felony;
(3) is at least 21 years of age; and
(4) is determined by the sheriff to be an individual of
upstanding moral character in the county.
(e) A volunteer may not arrest or detain an individual.
(f) A volunteer shall carry and display identification that
states the volunteer's name and that the volunteer has been
appointed as a volunteer for the program.
(g) A volunteer is not entitled to compensation for any act
performed in the course of the volunteer's duties under the
program.
(h) A sheriff's department may provide a volunteer with
equipment, including equipment that enables the volunteer to share
information through the interoperable communication system
implemented under Section 421.103.
SECTION 2. On the effective date of this Act:
(1) the amount of $19,500,000 is appropriated from the
general revenue fund to the comptroller of public accounts for the
purpose of immediately distributing $500,000 to each sheriff's
department for a border county as defined by Section 421.101,
Government Code, as added by this Act, and each Texas Anti-Gang
Center, as defined by that section, for the purposes described by
Section 421.103, Government Code, as added by this Act; and
(2) the amount of $7,000,000 is appropriated from the
general revenue fund to the comptroller of public accounts for the
purpose of immediately distributing $500,000 to each sheriff's
department for a county to which Section 421.104, Government Code,
as added by this Act, applies for the purposes described by that
section.
SECTION 3. Not later than March 1, 2024, the governor shall
appoint a border county sheriffs' liaison and a Texas Anti-Gang
Centers' liaison as required by Section 421.102, Government Code,
as added by this Act, to begin terms of office that begin on March 1,
2024.
SECTION 4. Not later than August 1, 2024, a sheriff's
department for a border county as defined by Section 421.101,
Government Code, as added by this Act, shall implement the
interoperable communication system as required by Section 421.103,
Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 5. Not later than August 1, 2024, the sheriff for a
county to which Section 421.104, Government Code, as added by this
Act, applies shall establish the Texas border enforcement volunteer
program in that county as required by that section.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
last day of the legislative session.