Bill Text: TX HB12 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to the enforcement of state and federal laws governing immigration by certain governmental entities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 43-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-05-24 - Record vote [HB12 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB12-Engrossed.html

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By: Solomons, Bohac, Harless, et al. H.B. No. 12

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the enforcement of state and federal laws governing
immigration by certain governmental entities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 370, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Section 370.0031 to read as follows:
Sec. 370.0031. LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLICY REGARDING
ENFORCEMENT OF STATE AND FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS. (a) This
section applies to:
(1) the governing body of a municipality, county, or
special district or authority, subject to Subsections (b) and
(b-1);
(2) an officer, employee, or other body that is part of
a municipality, county, or special district or authority, including
a sheriff, municipal police department, municipal attorney, or
county attorney; and
(3) a district attorney or criminal district attorney.
(b) This section does not apply to a school district or
open-enrollment charter school or a junior college district, except
that this subsection does not exclude the application of this
section to a commissioned peace officer employed or commissioned by
a school district or open-enrollment charter school or a junior
college district. This section does not apply to the release of
information contained in education records of an educational agency
or institution, except in conformity with the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, Section 513, Pub. L. No. 93-380 (20
U.S.C. Section 1232g).
(b-1) This section does not apply to a hospital or hospital
district created under Subtitle C or D, Title 4, Health and Safety
Code, or a hospital district created under a general or special law
authorized by Article IX, Texas Constitution, to the extent that
the hospital or hospital district is providing access to or
delivering medical or health care services as required under the
following applicable federal or state laws:
(1) 42 U.S.C. Section 1395dd;
(2) 42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(v);
(3) Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Health and Safety Code;
(4) Chapter 81, Health and Safety Code; and
(5) Section 311.022, Health and Safety Code.
(b-2) Subsection (b-1) does not exclude the application of
this section to a commissioned peace officer employed by or
commissioned by a hospital or hospital district subject to
Subsection (b-1).
(c) An entity described by Subsection (a) may not adopt a
rule, order, ordinance, or policy under which the entity prohibits
the enforcement of the laws of this state or federal law relating to
immigrants or immigration, including the federal Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.).
(d) In compliance with Subsection (c), an entity described
by Subsection (a) may not prohibit a person employed by or otherwise
under the direction or control of the entity from doing any of the
following:
(1) inquiring into the immigration status of a person
lawfully detained for the investigation of a criminal offense or
arrested;
(2) with respect to information relating to the
immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any person lawfully
detained for the investigation of a criminal offense or arrested:
(A) sending the information to or requesting or
receiving the information from United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services or United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, including information regarding an individual's place
of birth;
(B) maintaining the information; or
(C) exchanging the information with another
federal, state, or local governmental entity;
(3) assisting or cooperating with a federal
immigration officer as reasonable and necessary, including
providing enforcement assistance; or
(4) permitting a federal immigration officer to enter
and conduct enforcement activities at a municipal or county jail to
enforce federal immigration laws.
(d-1) An entity described by Subsection (a) or a person
employed by or otherwise under the direction or control of the
entity may not consider race, color, language, or national origin
while enforcing the laws described by Subsection (c) except to the
extent permitted by the United States Constitution or the Texas
Constitution.
(e) An entity described by Subsection (a) may not receive
state grant funds if the entity adopts a rule, order, ordinance, or
policy under which the entity prohibits the enforcement of the laws
of this state or federal laws relating to Subsection (c) or, by
consistent actions, prohibits the enforcement of the laws of this
state or federal laws relating to Subsection (c). State grant funds
for the entity shall be denied for the fiscal year following the
year in which a final judicial determination in an action brought
under this section is made that the entity has intentionally
prohibited the enforcement of the laws of this state or federal laws
relating to Subsection (c).
(f) Any citizen residing in the jurisdiction of an entity
described by Subsection (a) may file a complaint with the attorney
general if the citizen offers evidence to support an allegation
that the entity has adopted a rule, order, ordinance, or policy
under which the entity prohibits the enforcement of the laws of this
state or federal laws relating to Subsection (c) or that, by
consistent actions, prohibits the enforcement of the laws of this
state or federal laws relating to Subsection (c). The citizen must
include with the complaint the evidence the citizen has that
supports the complaint.
(g) If the attorney general determines that a complaint
filed under Subsection (f) against an entity described by
Subsection (a) is valid, the attorney general may file a petition
for a writ of mandamus or apply for other appropriate equitable
relief in a district court in Travis County or in a county in which
the principal office of an entity described by Subsection (a) is
located to compel the entity that adopts a rule, order, ordinance,
or policy under which the local entity prohibits the enforcement of
the laws of this state or federal laws relating to Subsection (c) or
that, by consistent actions, prohibits the enforcement of the laws
of this state or federal laws relating to Subsection (c) to comply
with Subsection (c). The attorney general may recover reasonable
expenses incurred in obtaining relief under this subsection,
including court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, investigative
costs, witness fees, and deposition costs.
(h) An appeal of a suit brought under Subsection (g) is
governed by the procedures for accelerated appeals in civil cases
under the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. The appellate court
shall render its final order or judgment with the least possible
delay.
SECTION 2. The heading to Chapter 370, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 370. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO [MUNICIPAL
AND COUNTY] HEALTH AND PUBLIC SAFETY APPLYING TO MORE THAN ONE
TYPE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.