Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB243 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R2197 RAL-F
2	2	By: Flores S.B. No. 243
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the regulation of migrant labor housing facilities;
10	10	changing the amount of a civil penalty.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
13	13	amended by amending Section 2306.933 and adding Sections 2306.934,
14	14	2306.935, 2306.936, 2306.937, 2306.938, 2306.939, and 2306.940 to
15	15	read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 2306.933. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates
17	17	this subchapter or a rule adopted under this subchapter is subject
18	18	to a civil penalty of not less than $50 for each person occupying
19	19	the migrant labor housing facility in violation of this subchapter
20	20	[$200] for each day that the violation occurs.
21	21	(b) An [The county attorney for the county in which the
22	22	violation occurred, or the attorney general, at the request of the
23	23	department, shall bring an] action [in the name of the state] to
24	24	collect a civil [the] penalty under this section may be brought by:
25	25	(1) the department through the contested case hearing
26	26	process described by Section 2306.930(b);
27	27	(2) the county attorney for the county in which the
28	28	violation occurred, or the attorney general, at the request of the
29	29	department; or
30	30	(3) a migrant agricultural worker if:
31	31	(A) a complaint regarding the violation for which
32	32	the civil penalty is sought has been submitted under Section
33	33	2306.934; and
34	34	(B) at the time the complaint described by
35	35	Paragraph (A) is submitted, the worker:
36	36	(i) lives in the migrant labor housing
37	37	facility that is the subject of the complaint; and
38	38	(ii) is not temporarily in the United
39	39	States under an H-2A visa authorized by 8 U.S.C. Section
40	40	1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a).
41	41	(c) An action to collect a civil penalty under this section
42	42	may not be brought while:
43	43	(1) a contested case hearing brought by the department
44	44	under Section 2306.930(b) and relating to the same migrant labor
45	45	housing facility is pending;
46	46	(2) an action for injunctive relief relating to the
47	47	same violation is pending under Section 2306.932;
48	48	(3) an action brought by a county attorney or the
49	49	attorney general and relating to the same migrant labor housing
50	50	facility is pending; or
51	51	(4) the operator of the migrant labor housing facility
52	52	that is the subject of the action is:
53	53	(A) waiting for the facility to be inspected
54	54	under Section 2306.935(c) to confirm remediation of the violation
55	55	that is the subject of the action; or
56	56	(B) providing housing at a facility under Section
57	57	2306.936(d) to which the migrant agricultural workers who occupied
58	58	the facility that is the subject of the action have been relocated.
59	59	(d) A civil penalty under this section begins accruing on
60	60	the earlier of:
61	61	(1) for a violation with a remediation period
62	62	described by Section 2306.935, the day that:
63	63	(A) the department determines based on
64	64	information submitted under Section 2306.935(b) that the operator
65	65	has failed to remedy the violation; or
66	66	(B) an inspection described by Section
67	67	2306.935(c) establishes that the migrant housing facility operator
68	68	has failed to remedy the violation; or
69	69	(2) for a violation with a remediation period
70	70	described by Section 2306.936, the 31st day following the date that
71	71	notification of the complaint is received from the department,
72	72	unless the operator has relocated under Section 2306.936(d) the
73	73	migrant agricultural workers who occupied the facility that is the
74	74	subject of the complaint.
75	75	(e) The department by rule shall adopt a penalty schedule
76	76	that increases the amount of the penalty assessed against a person
77	77	who repeatedly violates this subchapter or rules adopted under this
78	78	subchapter.
79	79	(f) A penalty collected under Subsection (b)(1) or (2) shall
80	80	be deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund and may be
81	81	appropriated only to the department for the enforcement of this
82	82	subchapter.
83	83	Sec. 2306.934. COMPLAINT; NOTICE; DISMISSAL. (a) In this
84	84	section, "designated representative" means an individual or
85	85	organization to whom a migrant agricultural worker has given
86	86	written authorization to exercise the worker's right to file a
87	87	complaint under this section.
88	88	(b) The department by rule shall establish a process for:
89	89	(1) the submission to the department of a complaint
90	90	regarding a migrant labor housing facility;
91	91	(2) determining whether a complaint is unfounded or
92	92	does not violate the standards adopted by the department; and
93	93	(3) the investigation, resolution, or dismissal of a
94	94	complaint submitted under Subdivision (1), including confirmation
95	95	of remediation through the methods described by Sections 2306.935
96	96	and 2306.936.
97	97	(c) The process established under Subsection (b)(1) must
98	98	allow the submission of complaints:
99	99	(1) only by:
100	100	(A) an occupant of the migrant labor housing
101	101	facility that is the subject of the complaint;
102	102	(B) a prospective occupant of the migrant labor
103	103	housing facility that is the subject of the complaint;
104	104	(C) the designated representative of a person
105	105	described by Paragraph (A) or (B); or
106	106	(D) an individual, including the owner or tenant
107	107	of an adjacent property, that has observed a clear violation of this
108	108	subchapter; and
109	109	(2) through the department's Internet website, in
110	110	person at any department office, or by telephone or written notice
111	111	to the department.
112	112	(d) Not later than the fifth day after the date on which the
113	113	department receives a complaint, the department shall notify the
114	114	operator of the migrant labor housing facility that is the subject
115	115	of the complaint. Notice under this subsection must include:
116	116	(1) the date that the complaint was received;
117	117	(2) the subject matter of the complaint;
118	118	(3) the name of each person contacted in relation to
119	119	the complaint, if any; and
120	120	(4) the timeline for remedying a complaint that is not
121	121	otherwise dismissed by the department.
122	122	(e) If the department is unable to make contact with an
123	123	operator of a migrant labor housing facility for the purpose of
124	124	serving a notification of a complaint, the department shall serve
125	125	the notification of the complaint via registered or certified mail,
126	126	return receipt requested.
127	127	(f) If the department determines that a complaint is
128	128	unfounded or does not violate the standards adopted by rule, the
129	129	department may dismiss the complaint and shall include a statement
130	130	of the reason for the dismissal in the record of the complaint. The
131	131	department shall provide timely notice of any dismissal of the
132	132	complaint, including the explanation for the dismissal, to the
133	133	operator of the migrant labor housing facility that is the subject
134	134	of the complaint.
135	135	(g) A designated representative may not be required to
136	136	reveal the name of any migrant agricultural worker on whose behalf
137	137	the representative submitted a complaint under this section if the
138	138	department reviews the written authorization establishing the
139	139	representation and verifies that the representative is authorized
140	140	to submit the complaint.
141	141	Sec. 2306.935. REMEDIATION OF COMPLAINT IN GENERAL. (a)
142	142	Subject to Section 2306.936, not later than the seventh day after
143	143	the date that notice is received under Section 2306.934, the
144	144	operator of a migrant labor housing facility shall remedy the
145	145	complaint.
146	146	(b) The department by rule shall establish a procedure by
147	147	which the operator of a migrant labor housing facility may submit
148	148	proof of remediation of a complaint through visual evidence and a
149	149	sworn affidavit.
150	150	(c) For an operator of a migrant labor housing facility who
151	151	receives notice under Section 2306.934(e) or who does not submit
152	152	proof of remediation in the manner provided by Subsection (b), the
153	153	department shall have the facility inspected as soon as possible
154	154	following the seventh day after the date notice is received under
155	155	Section 2306.934 to ensure remediation of the complaint.
156	156	Sec. 2306.936. REMEDIATION OF COMPLAINT REGARDING CERTAIN
157	157	VIOLATIONS. (a) This section applies only to a complaint that
158	158	alleges a violation that the department determines poses an
159	159	imminent hazard or threat to the health and safety of the occupants
160	160	of the facility, including violations of rules adopted by the
161	161	department concerning sanitation.
162	162	(b) Subject to Subsection (d), not later than the 30th day
163	163	after the date notice is received under Section 2306.934, the
164	164	operator of a migrant labor housing facility that is the subject of
165	165	a complaint described by Subsection (a) shall remedy the complaint.
166	166	(c) The department may refer a complaint described by
167	167	Subsection (a) to a local authority for immediate inspection of the
168	168	migrant labor housing facility.
169	169	(d) The department by rule shall establish a procedure for
170	170	requiring the owner of a migrant labor housing facility to relocate
171	171	or provide for the relocation to another housing facility of the
172	172	occupants of a facility that is the subject of a complaint under
173	173	Subsection (a) if the remediation of that complaint is projected to
174	174	take longer than a period of 30 days. A housing facility to which a
175	175	person is relocated under this subsection:
176	176	(1) must meet the occupancy standards adopted under
177	177	this subchapter;
178	178	(2) must be located in the same vicinity as the vacated
179	179	facility; and
180	180	(3) may not require a rent payment from a displaced
181	181	migrant agricultural worker that exceeds the rent charged for the
182	182	vacated facility.
183	183	(e) Subsection (d) does not apply to a migrant agricultural
184	184	worker who is temporarily in the United States under an H-2A visa
185	185	authorized under 8 U.S.C. Section 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a).
186	186	Sec. 2306.937. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. A person who owns,
187	187	establishes, maintains, operates, or otherwise provides a migrant
188	188	labor housing facility, a person who employs a migrant agricultural
189	189	worker who occupies a migrant labor housing facility, or a farm
190	190	labor contractor may not retaliate against a person for filing a
191	191	complaint or providing information in good faith relating to a
192	192	possible violation of this subchapter.
193	193	Sec. 2306.938. ATTORNEY'S FEES. The court in a suit brought
194	194	under this subchapter may award reasonable attorney's fees to the
195	195	prevailing party.
196	196	Sec. 2306.939. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION. (a) The
197	197	department shall identify other state agencies that may interact
198	198	with occupants of migrant housing facilities to assist the
199	199	department in identifying and locating unlicensed migrant labor
200	200	housing facilities.
201	201	(b) Information provided to the department under this
202	202	section:
203	203	(1) may be used only for the purposes of identifying
204	204	and locating unlicensed migrant labor housing facilities;
205	205	(2) must be free of identification information
206	206	relating to individual migrant agricultural workers; and
207	207	(3) is confidential and not subject to disclosure
208	208	under Chapter 552.
209	209	Sec. 2306.940. OUTREACH AND EDUCATION. (a) The department
210	210	shall provide:
211	211	(1) to migrant agricultural workers in different
212	212	regions of the state, educational materials or programs that are
213	213	presented in English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate
214	214	and that inform the workers of their rights and remedies under this
215	215	subchapter; and
216	216	(2) to persons who own, establish, maintain, operate,
217	217	procure, make arrangements for, or otherwise provide migrant labor
218	218	housing facilities, educational materials or programs that are
219	219	presented in English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate
220	220	and that inform the persons of their obligations under this
221	221	subchapter.
222	222	(b) To better provide the services described by Subsection
223	223	(a), the department shall:
224	224	(1) ensure that, in each region of the state where
225	225	migrant labor housing facilities are most common, there are persons
226	226	capable of providing the information described by Subsection (a) in
227	227	English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate; and
228	228	(2) conduct research, including by surveying migrant
229	229	agricultural workers, concerning:
230	230	(A) what types of migrant labor housing
231	231	facilities are most common in different regions of the state; and
232	232	(B) what regions of the state most need
233	233	additional or improved migrant labor housing facilities.
234	234	SECTION 2. Not later than March 1, 2026, the Texas
235	235	Department of Housing and Community Affairs shall adopt the rules
236	236	necessary to implement Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government
237	237	Code, as amended by this Act.
238	238	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act in amending
239	239	Section 2306.933, Government Code, and adding Sections 2306.934,
240	240	2306.935, 2306.936, 2306.937, and 2306.938, Government Code,
241	241	applies only to a violation that occurs on or after the effective
242	242	date of this Act. A violation that occurs before the effective date
243	243	of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
244	244	violation occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
245	245	that purpose. For purposes of this section, a violation occurs
246	246	before the effective date of this Act if any element of the
247	247	violation occurs before that date.
248	248	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.