Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2705 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Zwiener H.B. No. 2705
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6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the protection of free speech rights at institutions of
9	9	higher education, including the prosecution of the offenses of
10	10	trespass, damage, and defacement at certain institutions of higher
11	11	education, and criminal trespass.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Chapter 38, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
14	14	amended by adding Article 38.52 to read as follows:
15	15	Art. 38.52. EVIDENCE IN PROSECUTION FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES
16	16	INVOLVING EXPRESSIVE ACTIVITY AT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION. (a)
17	17	In this article, "expressive activities" has the meaning assigned
18	18	by Section 51.9315, Education Code.
19	19	(b) This article applies only to the prosecution of an
20	20	offense under Section 30.05 or 42.03, Penal Code, that occurred on
21	21	the campus of an institution of higher education while the
22	22	defendant was engaging in expressive activities.
23	23	(c) In the prosecution of an offense described by Subsection
24	24	(b), evidence of the following is admissible:
25	25	(1) an institution of higher education's resolution of
26	26	an alleged violation of the institution's policies on expressive
27	27	activities related to the defendant's conduct giving rise to the
28	28	offense; and
29	29	(2) a resolution by the campus free expression review
30	30	board established under Section 51.9316, Education Code, of an
31	31	appeal to the review board of an institution of higher education's
32	32	resolution described by Subdivision (1).
33	33	SECTION 2. Section 51.204, Education Code, is amended by
34	34	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
35	35	(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
36	36	section that the person:
37	37	(1) at the time of the offense, was engaging in
38	38	expressive activities, as defined by Section 51.9315; and
39	39	(2) was found not to have engaged in any misconduct by
40	40	the institution or the campus free expression review board
41	41	established under Section 51.9316 with respect to the conduct
42	42	giving rise to the offense.
43	43	SECTION 3. Section 51.9315(a), Education Code, is amended
44	44	by amending Subdivision (2) and adding Subdivision (3-a) to read as
45	45	follows:
46	46	(2) "Expressive activities" means any speech or
47	47	expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment to the United
48	48	States Constitution or by Section 8, Article I, Texas Constitution,
49	49	and includes assemblies, protests, speeches, the distribution of
50	50	written material, the carrying of signs, [and] the distribution and
51	51	circulation of petitions or digital media, and symbolic expression,
52	52	including the wearing of symbolic clothing or accessories. The
53	53	term does not include commercial speech or hate speech, including
54	54	symbols associated with hate speech.
55	55	(3-a) "Review board" means the campus free expression
56	56	review board established under Section 51.9316.
57	57	SECTION 4. Section 51.9315, Education Code, is amended by
58	58	amending Subsections (b), (c), (d), (f), and (h) and adding
59	59	Subsections (d-1) and (h-1) to read as follows:
60	60	(b) It is the policy of this state and the purpose of this
61	61	section to ensure an open, inclusive exchange of ideas fundamental
62	62	to higher education and protect the expressive rights of persons
63	63	guaranteed by the constitutions of the United States and of this
64	64	state by:
65	65	(1) recognizing freedom of speech and assembly as
66	66	central to the mission of institutions of higher education; and
67	67	(2) ensuring that all persons may assemble peaceably
68	68	on the campuses of institutions of higher education for expressive
69	69	activities, including to listen to or observe the expressive
70	70	activities of others.
71	71	(c) An institution of higher education shall:
72	72	(1) ensure that the common outdoor areas of the
73	73	institution's campus are deemed traditional public forums; and
74	74	(2) permit any person to engage in expressive
75	75	activities in those areas of the institution's campus freely, as
76	76	long as the person's conduct:
77	77	(A) is not unlawful; and
78	78	(B) does not materially and substantially
79	79	disrupt the academic instruction of classrooms or administrative
80	80	functioning of the institution.
81	81	(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), an institution of
82	82	higher education may adopt a policy that imposes reasonable
83	83	restrictions on the time, place, and manner of expressive
84	84	activities in the common outdoor areas of the institution's campus
85	85	if those restrictions:
86	86	(1) are narrowly tailored to serve a significant
87	87	institutional interest;
88	88	(2) employ clear, published, content-neutral, and
89	89	viewpoint-neutral criteria;
90	90	(3) provide for ample alternative means of expression;
91	91	and
92	92	(4) allow members of the university community to
93	93	assemble or distribute written, digital, or symbolic material
94	94	without a permit or other permission from the institution.
95	95	(d-1) A policy adopted under Subsection (d) must be approved
96	96	by the review board and amended in accordance with an order of the
97	97	review board.
98	98	(f) Each institution of higher education shall adopt a
99	99	policy detailing students' rights and responsibilities regarding
100	100	expressive activities at the institution. The policy must:
101	101	(1) allow:
102	102	(A) any person to, subject to reasonable
103	103	restrictions adopted under Subsection (d), engage in expressive
104	104	activities on campus, including by responding to the expressive
105	105	activities of others; and
106	106	(B) student organizations and faculty to,
107	107	subject to Subsection (h), invite speakers to speak on campus;
108	108	(2) establish disciplinary sanctions for students,
109	109	student organizations, or faculty who unduly interfere with the
110	110	expressive activities of others on campus;
111	111	(3) include a grievance procedure for addressing
112	112	complaints of a violation of this section that includes mechanisms
113	113	for redress;
114	114	(4) be approved by a majority vote of the institution's
115	115	governing board before final adoption; [and]
116	116	(5) be posted on the institution's Internet website;
117	117	(6) be approved by the review board; and
118	118	(7) be amended in accordance with an order of the
119	119	review board.
120	120	(h) In determining whether to approve a speaker to speak on
121	121	campus or in determining the amount of a fee to be charged for use of
122	122	the institution's facilities for purposes of engaging in expressive
123	123	activities, an institution of higher education:
124	124	(1) may consider only content-neutral and
125	125	viewpoint-neutral criteria related to the needs of the event, such
126	126	as:
127	127	(A) the proposed venue and the expected size of
128	128	the audience;
129	129	(B) any anticipated need for campus security
130	130	based on the factors described by Paragraph (A) and any history of
131	131	unprotected or unlawful speech by the speaker or the requesting
132	132	student organization or faculty member;
133	133	(C) any necessary accommodations; and
134	134	(D) any relevant history of compliance or
135	135	noncompliance by the requesting student organization or faculty
136	136	member with the institution's policy adopted under Subsection (f)
137	137	and any other relevant policies; and
138	138	(2) may not consider any anticipated controversy
139	139	related to the event.
140	140	(h-1) If an institution of higher education charges a fee
141	141	for use of the institution's facilities for purposes of engaging in
142	142	expressive activities, the institution shall provide to the person
143	143	directed to pay the fee an itemized receipt detailing the method for
144	144	determining the amount of the fee.
145	145	SECTION 5. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
146	146	amended by adding Sections 51.9316 and 51.9317 to read as follows:
147	147	Sec. 51.9316. CAMPUS FREE EXPRESSION REVIEW BOARD. (a) In
148	148	this section, "review board" means the campus free expression
149	149	review board established under this section.
150	150	(b) The campus free expression review board is established
151	151	to assess the policies and practices of institutions of higher
152	152	education regarding expressive activities under Section 51.9315 to
153	153	ensure fairness, viewpoint neutrality, and protection of those
154	154	activities.
155	155	(c) The review board is composed of the following eight
156	156	members:
157	157	(1) two members appointed by the most senior member of
158	158	the majority party of the Texas House of Representatives;
159	159	(2) two members appointed by the most senior member of
160	160	the minority party of the Texas House of Representatives;
161	161	(3) two members appointed by the most senior member of
162	162	the majority party of the Texas State Senate; and
163	163	(4) two members appointed by the most senior member of
164	164	the minority party of the Texas State Senate.
165	165	(d) In appointing members of the review board, the
166	166	appointing authorities under Subsection (c) shall coordinate to
167	167	ensure that the review board includes legal scholars, legal
168	168	professionals, or professionals in the nonprofit sector who
169	169	specialize in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
170	170	and free speech protections.
171	171	(e) A member of the review board serves a two-year term.
172	172	(f) The members of the review board shall elect a
173	173	chairperson by majority vote.
174	174	(g) A member of the review board is not entitled to
175	175	compensation but may be reimbursed for actual and necessary travel
176	176	and other expenses incurred in the performance of the member's
177	177	duties on the review board.
178	178	(h) A person aggrieved by an institution of higher
179	179	education's resolution of the grievance procedure under Section
180	180	51.9315(f) may appeal that decision to the review board. In
181	181	considering the appeal, the review board shall review the content
182	182	of the institution's policies adopted under Section 51.9315 and may
183	183	require the institution to amend those policies to resolve any
184	184	infringements on protected speech or violations of Section 51.9315
185	185	that the review board identifies.
186	186	(i) The review board shall establish and make available to
187	187	institutions of higher education criteria for:
188	188	(1) evaluating the viewpoint neutrality, clarity, and
189	189	accessibility of policies adopted by an institution of higher
190	190	education under Section 51.9315; and
191	191	(2) hearing appeals to an institution of higher
192	192	education's grievance procedure under Section 51.9315(f).
193	193	Sec. 51.9317. SUIT FOR PROTECTED SPEECH VIOLATION. (a) In
194	194	this section, "institution of higher education" has the meaning
195	195	assigned by Section 61.003.
196	196	(b) A person may bring an action for injunctive relief
197	197	against an institution of higher education to compel the
198	198	institution to comply with the First Amendment to the United States
199	199	Constitution, Section 8, Article I, Texas Constitution, or Section
200	200	51.9315. On a finding that the institution violated one or more of
201	201	those provisions, the court shall award the person compensatory
202	202	damages, reasonable attorney fees, and court costs.
203	203	(c) An institution of higher education's sovereign immunity
204	204	to suit and from liability is waived and abolished to the extent of
205	205	liability created under this section.
206	206	SECTION 6. Section 30.05, Penal Code, is amended by adding
207	207	Subsection (j) to read as follows:
208	208	(j) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
209	209	section that the actor entered property owned or leased by an
210	210	institution of higher education or other higher education
211	211	institution and:
212	212	(1) at the time of the offense, was engaging in
213	213	expressive activities, as defined by Section 51.9315, Education
214	214	Code; and
215	215	(2) was found not to have engaged in any misconduct by
216	216	the institution or the campus free expression review board
217	217	established under Section 51.9316, Education Code, with respect to
218	218	the conduct giving rise to the offense.
219	219	SECTION 7. Article 38.52, Code of Criminal Procedure,
220	220	Section 51.204(c), Education Code, and Section 30.05(j), Penal
221	221	Code, as added by this Act, apply only to an offense committed on or
222	222	after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before
223	223	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
224	224	the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued
225	225	in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an
226	226	offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any
227	227	element of the offense occurred before that date.
228	228	SECTION 8. Section 51.9315, Education Code, as amended by
229	229	this Act, applies beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year.
230	230	SECTION 9. Section 51.9317, Education Code, as added by
231	231	this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after
232	232	the effective date of this Act.
233	233	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.