Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB840 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R3444 CXP-F
2	2	By: Spiller H.B. No. 840
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the removal, relocation, alteration, or construction of
10	10	certain monuments, memorials, or designations located on public
11	11	property; authorizing a civil penalty.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 442.015(b), Government Code, is amended
14	14	to read as follows:
15	15	(b) The commission may use distributions from the Texas
16	16	preservation trust fund account to provide financial assistance to
17	17	public or private entities for the acquisition, survey,
18	18	restoration, or preservation, or for planning and educational
19	19	activities leading to the preservation, of historic property in the
20	20	state that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places or
21	21	designated as a State Archeological Landmark or Recorded Texas
22	22	Historic Landmark, or that the commission determines is eligible
23	23	for such listing or designation or for the construction of a
24	24	monument or memorial described by Section 2166.5011(c) or by
25	25	Section 338.003, Local Government Code. The financial assistance
26	26	may be in the amount and form and according to the terms that the
27	27	commission by rule determines. The commission shall give priority
28	28	to property the commission determines to be endangered by
29	29	demolition, neglect, underuse, looting, vandalism, or other threat
30	30	to the property. Gifts and grants deposited to the credit of the
31	31	account specifically for any eligible projects may be used only for
32	32	the type of projects specified. If such a specification is not
33	33	made, the gift or grant shall be unencumbered and accrue to the
34	34	benefit of the Texas preservation trust fund account. If such a
35	35	specification is made, the entire amount of the gift or grant may be
36	36	used during any period for the project or type of project specified.
37	37	SECTION 2. Section 443.0081, Government Code, is reenacted
38	38	and amended to read as follows:
39	39	Sec. 443.0081. HISTORICAL REPRESENTATION ADVISORY
40	40	COMMITTEE. (a) To ensure that the diverse history of Texas is
41	41	accurately represented in the Capitol Complex, the historical
42	42	representation advisory committee shall provide advice and
43	43	guidance to the board on the addition and removal of monuments in
44	44	[to] the Capitol Complex.
45	45	(b) The advisory committee consists of the following 12
46	46	members:
47	47	(1) four members appointed by the governor;
48	48	(2) four members appointed by the lieutenant governor;
49	49	and
50	50	(3) four members appointed by the speaker of the house
51	51	of representatives.
52	52	(c) In making appointments under this section, the
53	53	governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
54	54	representatives shall attempt to include African American Texans,
55	55	Hispanic American Texans, Native American Texans, female Texans,
56	56	and Texans exemplifying rural heritage.
57	57	(d) The governor shall designate the presiding officer of
58	58	the committee from among the members of the committee. The
59	59	presiding officer serves a term of two years.
60	60	(e) A member of the advisory committee serves at the
61	61	pleasure of the appointing officer and serves without compensation
62	62	or reimbursement of expenses.
63	63	(f) The advisory committee shall conduct meetings the
64	64	committee considers necessary to provide advice and guidance under
65	65	this section. The board shall provide necessary administrative
66	66	support to the advisory committee.
67	67	(g) Subject to the approval of the board, the advisory
68	68	committee shall develop its own bylaws under which it shall
69	69	operate.
70	70	(h) Chapter 2110 does not apply to the advisory committee.
71	71	(i) The advisory committee is subject to the open meetings
72	72	law, Chapter 551.
73	73	(j) Not later than December 1, 2026, the [The] advisory
74	74	committee shall prepare and submit a report to the governor, board,
75	75	and legislature on the historical significance and relevance to the
76	76	history of this state of each monument in the Capitol Complex [is
77	77	subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in
78	78	existence as provided by that chapter, the advisory committee is
79	79	abolished September 1, 2007].
80	80	(k) The advisory committee shall:
81	81	(1) collect information relating to each proposed
82	82	monument to the Capitol Complex; and
83	83	(2) in cooperation with the chair of the history
84	84	department at Prairie View A&M University, at The University of
85	85	Texas at Austin, or at any other land grant university in the state,
86	86	as determined by the committee, ensure the:
87	87	(A) historical accuracy of any proposed
88	88	monument; and
89	89	(B) equitable representation of all Texans,
90	90	including African slaves, African Americans, Hispanic Americans,
91	91	Native Americans, women in Texas history, and Texans exemplifying
92	92	military service and rural heritage in additional monuments to the
93	93	Capitol Complex.
94	94	(l) In this section, "monument" has the meaning assigned by
95	95	Section 443.0152 [443.015, as added by Chapter 1141, Acts of the
96	96	75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997].
97	97	(m) The advisory committee is abolished and this section
98	98	expires January 1, 2027.
99	99	SECTION 3. Section 2166.5011, Government Code, is amended
100	100	to read as follows:
101	101	Sec. 2166.5011. REMOVAL, RELOCATION, [OR] ALTERATION, OR
102	102	CONSTRUCTION OF A MONUMENT OR MEMORIAL. (a) In this section,
103	103	"monument or memorial" means a permanent monument, memorial, or
104	104	other designation, including a statue, portrait, plaque, seal,
105	105	symbol, cenotaph, building name, bridge name, park name, area name,
106	106	or street name, that:
107	107	(1) is located on state owned or leased property; and
108	108	(2) honors an event or person of historic significance
109	109	[a citizen of this state for military or war-related service].
110	110	(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code and
111	111	except as provided by Section 2166.5012, a monument or memorial
112	112	that has been located on state owned or leased property:
113	113	(1) for at least 25 years may be removed, relocated, or
114	114	altered only by approval of a concurrent resolution authorizing the
115	115	removal, relocation, or alteration, including alteration to
116	116	maintain historical accuracy, by a two-thirds vote of the members
117	117	of each house of the legislature; or
118	118	(2) for less than 25 years may be removed, relocated,
119	119	or altered, including alteration to maintain historical accuracy,
120	120	only by formal action of the governing body of or the single state
121	121	officer who governs the state agency that erected the monument or
122	122	memorial[:
123	123	[(1) by the legislature;
124	124	[(2) by the Texas Historical Commission;
125	125	[(3) by the State Preservation Board; or
126	126	[(4) as provided by Subsection (c)].
127	127	(c) An additional [A] monument or memorial may be added
128	128	[removed, relocated, or altered in a manner otherwise provided by
129	129	this code as necessary to accommodate construction, repair, or
130	130	improvements] to the [monument or memorial or to the] surrounding
131	131	state owned or leased property on which a [the] monument or memorial
132	132	is located to complement or contrast with the monument or memorial.
133	133	[Any monument or memorial that is permanently removed under this
134	134	subsection must be relocated to a prominent location.]
135	135	(d) Notwithstanding Section 2166.003, this section applies
136	136	to a monument or memorial on property of an institution of higher
137	137	education, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code.
138	138	SECTION 4. Subchapter K, Chapter 2166, Government Code, is
139	139	amended by adding Sections 2166.5012, 2166.5013, and 2166.5015 to
140	140	read as follows:
141	141	Sec. 2166.5012. CERTAIN DESIGNATIONS BY INSTITUTIONS OF
142	142	HIGHER EDUCATION. (a) In this section:
143	143	(1) "Designation" includes a designation of a
144	144	portrait, plaque, seal, symbol, building name, bridge name, park
145	145	name, area name, or street name.
146	146	(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
147	147	assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
148	148	(b) Notwithstanding Section 2166.003, an institution of
149	149	higher education may rename or alter a designation only if:
150	150	(1) the governing board of the institution of higher
151	151	education has previously adopted rules providing for the naming,
152	152	renaming, or altering of a designation in recognition of
153	153	philanthropic gifts to the institution; and
154	154	(2) the renaming or alteration is approved by the
155	155	governing board.
156	156	Sec. 2166.5013. ALAMO CENOTAPH. (a) In this section,
157	157	"Alamo Cenotaph" means the memorial to the Alamo defenders located
158	158	in the Alamo complex.
159	159	(b) Notwithstanding any other law, no entity may alter,
160	160	remove, or relocate the Alamo Cenotaph from the location where the
161	161	cenotaph was first placed following its completion.
162	162	Sec. 2166.5015. COMPLAINT; EQUITABLE RELIEF; CIVIL
163	163	PENALTY. (a) A resident of this state may file a complaint with
164	164	the attorney general if the resident asserts facts supporting an
165	165	allegation that an entity has violated Section 2166.5011(b) or
166	166	2166.5012. The resident must include a sworn statement with the
167	167	complaint stating that to the best of the resident's knowledge all
168	168	of the facts asserted in the complaint are true and correct.
169	169	(b) If the attorney general determines that a complaint
170	170	filed under Subsection (a) against an entity is valid, the attorney
171	171	general may file a petition for a writ of mandamus or apply for
172	172	other appropriate equitable relief in a district court in Travis
173	173	County to compel the entity that is suspected of violating Section
174	174	2166.5011(b) or 2166.5012 to comply with those sections.
175	175	(c) An entity that is found by a court as having
176	176	intentionally violated Section 2166.5011(b) or 2166.5012 is
177	177	subject to a civil penalty in an amount of:
178	178	(1) not less than $1,000 and not more than $1,500 for
179	179	the first violation; and
180	180	(2) not less than $25,000 and not more than $25,500 for
181	181	each subsequent violation.
182	182	(d) Each day of a continuing violation of Section
183	183	2166.5011(b) or 2166.5012 constitutes a separate violation for
184	184	purposes of a civil penalty under this section.
185	185	(e) The court that hears an action brought under this
186	186	section against an entity shall determine the amount of the civil
187	187	penalty.
188	188	(f) A civil penalty collected under this section shall be
189	189	deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund.
190	190	(g) Sovereign immunity of this state to suit is waived and
191	191	abolished to the extent of liability created by this section.
192	192	SECTION 5. Subtitle C, Title 10, Local Government Code, is
193	193	amended by adding Chapter 338 to read as follows:
194	194	CHAPTER 338. MONUMENTS AND MEMORIALS
195	195	Sec. 338.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "monument or
196	196	memorial" means a permanent monument, memorial, or other
197	197	designation, including a statue, portrait, plaque, seal, symbol,
198	198	cenotaph, building name, bridge name, park name, area name, or
199	199	street name, that honors an event or person of historic
200	200	significance.
201	201	Sec. 338.002. REMOVAL, RELOCATION, OR ALTERATION. A
202	202	monument or memorial that has been located on municipal or county
203	203	property:
204	204	(1) for at least 25 years may be removed, relocated, or
205	205	altered, including alteration to maintain historical accuracy,
206	206	only by supermajority vote by the governing body of the
207	207	municipality or the commissioners court of the county, as
208	208	applicable; or
209	209	(2) for less than 25 years may be removed, relocated,
210	210	or altered, including alteration to maintain historical accuracy,
211	211	only by the governing body of the municipality or the commissioners
212	212	court of the county, as applicable.
213	213	Sec. 338.003. ADDITIONAL MONUMENT OR MEMORIAL. An
214	214	additional monument or memorial may be added to the surrounding
215	215	municipal or county property on which a monument or memorial is
216	216	located to complement or contrast with the monument or memorial.
217	217	Sec. 338.004. COMPLAINT; EQUITABLE RELIEF; CIVIL PENALTY.
218	218	(a) A resident of a municipality or county, as applicable, may
219	219	file a complaint with the attorney general if the resident asserts
220	220	facts supporting an allegation that the municipality or county has
221	221	violated Section 338.002. The resident must include a sworn
222	222	statement with the complaint stating that to the best of the
223	223	resident's knowledge all of the facts asserted in the complaint are
224	224	true and correct.
225	225	(b) If the attorney general determines that a complaint
226	226	filed under Subsection (a) against a municipality or county is
227	227	valid, the attorney general may file a petition for a writ of
228	228	mandamus or apply for other appropriate equitable relief in a
229	229	district court in Travis County or in the county in which the
230	230	suspected violation of Section 338.002 is alleged to have occurred
231	231	to compel the municipality or county to comply with that section.
232	232	(c) A municipality or county that is found by a court as
233	233	having intentionally violated Section 338.002 is subject to a civil
234	234	penalty in an amount of:
235	235	(1) not less than $1,000 and not more than $1,500 for
236	236	the first violation; and
237	237	(2) not less than $25,000 and not more than $25,500 for
238	238	each subsequent violation.
239	239	(d) Each day of a continuing violation of Section 338.002
240	240	constitutes a separate violation for purposes of a civil penalty
241	241	under this section.
242	242	(e) The court that hears an action brought under this
243	243	section against a municipality or county shall determine the amount
244	244	of the civil penalty.
245	245	(f) A civil penalty collected under this section shall be
246	246	deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund.
247	247	(g) Sovereign immunity of this state and governmental
248	248	immunity of a county or municipality to suit is waived and abolished
249	249	to the extent of liability created by this section.
250	250	SECTION 6. Not later than January 1, 2026, the governor, the
251	251	lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
252	252	representatives shall make the appointments to the historical
253	253	representation advisory committee under Section 443.0081,
254	254	Government Code, as reenacted and amended by this Act.
255	255	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
256	256	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
257	257	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
258	258	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
259	259	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.