89R15350 JRR-F
By: Guillen, Morales of Maverick, Raymond, H.B. No. 246
et al.
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 246:
By: King C.S.H.B. No. 246
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a border crime property damage compensation program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 56C, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 56C. BORDER CRIME [LANDOWNER COMPENSATION FOR] PROPERTY
DAMAGE COMPENSATION PROGRAM [CAUSED BY CERTAIN CRIMINAL
ACTIVITIES]
SECTION 2. Article 56C.001(2), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(2) "Border crime" means conduct:
(A) constituting an offense under:
(i) Subchapter D, Chapter 481, Health and
Safety Code;
(ii) Section 20.05, 20.06, or 38.04, Penal
Code; or
(iii) Chapter 20A, Penal Code; and
(B) involving transnational criminal activity.
SECTION 3. Article 56C.003, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 56C.003. BORDER CRIME PROPERTY DAMAGE [LANDOWNER]
COMPENSATION PROGRAM. (a) From the funding sources described by
Subsection (a-1) [money appropriated for the purpose], the attorney
general shall establish and administer a program to compensate
landowners and lessees who suffer [real property] damage to
agricultural land, including buildings or other improvements, or to
livestock, timber, or crops on agricultural land, caused by:
(1) a trespasser as a result of an offense under
Chapter 28, Penal Code, that was committed in the course of or in
furtherance of a border crime; or
(2) a law enforcement response to a trespasser who was
engaged in a border crime.
(a-1) The attorney general may use money from the following
sources to establish the program described by Subsection (a):
(1) money appropriated, credited, or transferred by
the legislature for purposes of the program;
(2) revenue that the legislature by statute dedicates
for deposit to the credit of the program; and
(3) gifts, grants, and donations received by the state
for purposes of the program, including grants and reimbursements
received from the federal government.
(b) The attorney general shall establish:
(1) a standardized form and report template to be used
by law enforcement agencies for the purpose of documenting damage
caused by a trespasser in accordance with Subsection (c);
(2) eligibility criteria for compensation under this
article, including requirements for providing proof of eligibility
for compensation;
(3) [(2)] application procedures;
(4) [(3)] criteria for evaluating applications and
awarding compensation;
(5) [(4)] guidelines related to compensation amounts,
provided that the maximum amount awarded per incident causing
damage may not exceed a total of $75,000 and any portion of damages
attributable to livestock, timber, or crops may not exceed $10,000;
and
(6) [(5)] procedures for monitoring the use of
compensation awarded under this article and ensuring compliance
with any conditions of the award.
(b-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), damage caused to
agricultural land includes any debris, pollutants, or contaminants
left on the land during the applicable incident, and compensation
awarded under this article may include an amount necessary to clean
up the debris, pollutants, or contaminants to restore the soil to
its agricultural use.
(c) The attorney general may not award compensation under
this article for [real property] damage caused by a trespasser
described by Subsection (a)(1) unless the damage is documented in a
written report by a law enforcement agency as having occurred in
connection with a border crime.
(c-1) For purposes of allowing the attorney general to
determine whether a person qualifies for an award of compensation
under this article and the extent of the damage, a law enforcement
agency that makes a written report described by Subsection (c)
shall release the report to the attorney general not later than the
14th day after the date the attorney general makes a request to the
agency for the report.
(d) In awarding compensation under this article for [real
property] damage caused by a trespasser described by Subsection
(a)(1), the attorney general may not consider the outcome of any
criminal prosecution arising out of:
(1) the offense under Chapter 28, Penal Code, as a
result of which the applicant suffered [property] damage; or
(2) the applicable offense listed in Article
56C.001(2)(A).
SECTION 4. Article 56C.006(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The program established under Article 56C.003 is a payer
of last resort for [real property] damage described by that
article.
SECTION 5. Sections 552.132(a), (b), (c), and (d),
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), in this section,
"crime victim or claimant" means:
(1) a victim or claimant under Chapter 56B, Code of
Criminal Procedure, who has filed an application for compensation
under that chapter; or
(2) a person who has filed an application for
compensation under Chapter 56C, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) The following information held by [the crime victim's
compensation division of] the attorney general's office in
connection with an application for compensation under Chapter 56B
or 56C, Code of Criminal Procedure, is confidential:
(1) the name, social security number, address, or
telephone number of a crime victim or claimant; or
(2) any other information the disclosure of which
would identify or tend to identify the crime victim or claimant.
(c) If the crime victim or claimant is awarded compensation
under Article 56B.103, [or] 56B.104, or 56C.003, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as of the date of the award of compensation, the name of
the crime victim or claimant and the amount of compensation awarded
to that crime victim or claimant are public information and are not
excepted from the requirements of Section 552.021.
(d) An employee of a governmental body who is also a victim
under Chapter 56B, Code of Criminal Procedure, or has suffered
property damage for which the employee is eligible for compensation
under Chapter 56C of that code, regardless of whether the employee
has filed an application for compensation under the applicable
[that] chapter, may elect whether to allow public access to
information held by the attorney general's office or other
governmental body that would identify or tend to identify the
employee [victim], including a photograph or other visual
representation of the employee [victim]. An election under this
subsection must be made in writing on a form developed by the
governmental body, be signed by the employee, and be filed with the
governmental body before the third anniversary of the latest to
occur of one of the following:
(1) the date the crime was committed or the property
damage occurred, as applicable;
(2) the date employment begins; or
(3) the date the governmental body develops the form
and provides it to employees.
SECTION 6. Section 2251.052, Insurance Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) In setting rates, an insurer may not consider whether
a claim has been made by or on behalf of a policyholder in relation
to an event documented by a report described by Article 56C.003(c),
Code of Criminal Procedure.
SECTION 7. Article 56C.007, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
repealed.
SECTION 8. Chapter 56C, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
amended by this Act, applies only to compensation for damages
incurred in connection with conduct constituting an offense
occurring on or after the effective date of this Act. Compensation
for damages incurred in connection with conduct constituting an
offense occurring before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, conduct constituting an offense occurred before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 9. Section 2251.052(a-1), Insurance Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to an insurance policy that is delivered,
issued for delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026. A
policy delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed before January 1,
2026, is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the
effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.