Bill Text: TX HB21 | 2023 | 88th Legislature 2nd Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to civil liability for the sterilization, castration, or genital mutilation of children.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-06-27 - Filed [HB21 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB21-Introduced.html
| 88S20016 MZM-F | ||
| By: Toth | H.B. No. 21 | |
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| relating to civil liability for the sterilization, castration, or | ||
| genital mutilation of children. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 74, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Subchapter M to read as follows: | ||
| SUBCHAPTER M. LIABILITY FOR STERILIZATION, CASTRATION, OR GENITAL | ||
| MUTILATION OF CHILDREN | ||
| Sec. 74.601. CAUSE OF ACTION. Notwithstanding any other | ||
| law, a person is strictly and jointly and severally liable to an | ||
| individual for personal injury to the individual resulting from | ||
| knowingly: | ||
| (1) prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to | ||
| a minor for the purpose of transitioning a child's biological sex as | ||
| determined by the sex organs, chromosomes, and endogenous profiles | ||
| of the child or affirming the child's perception of the child's sex | ||
| if that perception is inconsistent with the child's biological sex; | ||
| (2) performing a sex-change operation on a minor; or | ||
| (3) aiding or abetting the conduct described by | ||
| Subdivision (1) or (2). | ||
| Sec. 74.602. STANDING AND DAMAGES. Notwithstanding any | ||
| other law, an individual described by Section 74.601 may bring an | ||
| action under this subchapter and is entitled to recover in the | ||
| action: | ||
| (1) nominal damages; | ||
| (2) compensatory damages; | ||
| (3) exemplary damages in an amount of not less than $10 | ||
| million from each defendant if the conduct that is the basis for the | ||
| action resulted in the individual's irreversible sterilization or | ||
| sexual dysfunction; and | ||
| (4) costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred in | ||
| bringing the action. | ||
| Sec. 74.603. LIMITATIONS. Notwithstanding any other law, a | ||
| person may bring an action under this subchapter not later than the | ||
| 20th anniversary of the date the cause of action accrues. | ||
| Sec. 74.604. DEFENSES. (a) A defendant against whom an | ||
| action is brought under this subchapter may assert as an | ||
| affirmative defense to liability that: | ||
| (1) the imposition of civil liability on the defendant | ||
| will violate constitutional or federally protected rights that | ||
| belong to the defendant personally; or | ||
| (2) the defendant: | ||
| (A) has standing to assert the rights of a third | ||
| party under the tests for third-party standing established by the | ||
| United States Supreme Court; and | ||
| (B) demonstrates that the imposition of civil | ||
| liability on the defendant will violate constitutional or federally | ||
| protected rights belonging to that third party. | ||
| (b) Notwithstanding any other law, the following are not a | ||
| defense to an action brought under this subchapter: | ||
| (1) ignorance or mistake of law; | ||
| (2) a defendant's belief that the requirements or | ||
| provisions of this subchapter are unconstitutional or were | ||
| unconstitutional; | ||
| (3) a defendant's reliance on a court decision that has | ||
| been vacated, reversed, or overruled on appeal or by a subsequent | ||
| court, even if that court decision had not been vacated, reversed, | ||
| or overruled when the cause of action accrued; | ||
| (4) a defendant's reliance on any state or federal | ||
| court decision that is not binding on the court in which the action | ||
| has been brought; | ||
| (5) a defendant's reliance on any federal statute, | ||
| agency rule or action, or treaty that has been repealed, | ||
| superseded, or declared invalid or unconstitutional, even if that | ||
| federal statute, agency rule or action, or treaty had not been | ||
| repealed, superseded, or declared invalid or unconstitutional when | ||
| the cause of action accrued; | ||
| (6) non-mutual issue preclusion or non-mutual claim | ||
| preclusion; | ||
| (7) the consent to the defendant's conduct that is the | ||
| basis of the action by: | ||
| (A) the claimant; | ||
| (B) one or both of the parents of the claimant if | ||
| the claimant was an unemancipated minor; or | ||
| (C) the legal guardian or conservator of the | ||
| claimant; | ||
| (8) contributory or comparative negligence; | ||
| (9) assumption of risk; | ||
| (10) sovereign immunity, governmental immunity, | ||
| official immunity, or qualified immunity; | ||
| (11) the claimant's waiver or purported waiver of the | ||
| claimant's right to bring the action; | ||
| (12) the claimant's failure to exhaust administrative | ||
| remedies; or | ||
| (13) a claim that the enforcement of this subchapter | ||
| or the imposition of civil liability against the defendant will | ||
| violate the constitutional rights of third parties, except as | ||
| provided by Subsection (a)(2). | ||
| (c) A civil action under this subchapter may not be brought | ||
| against a person that acted at the behest of a federal agency, | ||
| contractor, or employee who is carrying out duties under federal | ||
| law if the imposition of liability would violate the doctrines of | ||
| preemption or intergovernmental immunity. | ||
| (d) Nothing in this section or subchapter shall limit or | ||
| preclude a defendant from asserting the unconstitutionality of any | ||
| provision or application of a law of this state as a defense to | ||
| liability, or from asserting any other defense that might be | ||
| available under any other source of law. | ||
| Sec. 74.605. LONG-ARM JURISDICTION. Notwithstanding any | ||
| other law, including Subchapter C, Chapter 17, the courts of this | ||
| state have personal jurisdiction over a defendant sued under this | ||
| subchapter to the maximum extent permitted by the Fourteenth | ||
| Amendment to the United States Constitution. | ||
| Sec. 74.606. VENUE. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, | ||
| including Chapter 15, a civil action brought under this subchapter | ||
| must be brought in: | ||
| (1) the county in which all or a substantial part of | ||
| the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred; | ||
| (2) the county of residence for any one of the natural | ||
| person defendants at the time the cause of action accrued; | ||
| (3) the county of the principal office in this state of | ||
| any one of the defendants that is not a natural person; or | ||
| (4) the county of residence for the claimant if the | ||
| claimant is a natural person residing in this state. | ||
| (b) Notwithstanding any other law, if a civil action is | ||
| brought under this subchapter in a venue described by Subsection | ||
| (a), the action may not be transferred to a different venue without | ||
| the written consent of all parties. | ||
| (c) Any contractual provision that purports to require a | ||
| civil action under this subchapter to be litigated in another venue | ||
| is void as against public policy, and may not be enforced in any | ||
| state or federal court. | ||
| Sec. 74.607. CHOICE OF LAW. (a) Notwithstanding any other | ||
| law, the law of this state applies to any gender-transitioning | ||
| treatment provided to a resident of this state, regardless of where | ||
| that treatment occurs, and to any civil action brought under this | ||
| subchapter, to the maximum extent permitted by the United States | ||
| Constitution and the Texas Constitution. | ||
| (b) Any contractual choice of law provision that purports to | ||
| require the law of another jurisdiction to govern a civil action | ||
| brought under this subchapter is void as against public policy and | ||
| may not be enforced in any state or federal court. | ||
| (c) This section applies extraterritorially to the maximum | ||
| extent permitted by the United States Constitution and the Texas | ||
| Constitution. | ||
| Sec. 74.608. PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT EXCLUSIVE. | ||
| Notwithstanding any other law, direct or indirect enforcement of | ||
| this subchapter may not be taken or threatened by the state, a | ||
| political subdivision, a district or county attorney, or an officer | ||
| of this state or a political subdivision against any person by any | ||
| means, and this subchapter may not be used to justify or trigger the | ||
| enforcement of any other law or any type of adverse consequence | ||
| under any other law, except as provided by this subchapter. This | ||
| section does not preclude or limit the enforcement of any other law | ||
| or regulation against conduct that is independently prohibited by | ||
| the law or regulation and that would remain prohibited by such other | ||
| law or regulation in the absence of this subchapter. | ||
| Sec. 74.609. IMMUNITY FROM SUIT. (a) Subject to Subsection | ||
| (b) but notwithstanding any other law, the state has sovereign | ||
| immunity, a political subdivision has governmental immunity, and an | ||
| officer or employee of this state or a political subdivision has | ||
| official immunity, as well as sovereign or governmental immunity, | ||
| as appropriate, in any action, claim, counterclaim, or any type of | ||
| legal or equitable action that: | ||
| (1) challenges the validity of any provision or | ||
| application of this subchapter, on constitutional grounds or | ||
| otherwise; or | ||
| (2) seeks to prevent or enjoin the state, a political | ||
| subdivision, or an officer or employee of this state or a political | ||
| subdivision from: | ||
| (A) enforcing any provision or application of | ||
| this subchapter; or | ||
| (B) hearing, adjudicating, or docketing a civil | ||
| action brought under this subchapter. | ||
| (b) Subsection (a) does not apply to the extent that | ||
| immunity has been abrogated or preempted by federal law in a manner | ||
| consistent with the United States Constitution. | ||
| (c) The sovereign immunity conferred by this section on the | ||
| state and its officers and employees includes the constitutional | ||
| sovereign immunity recognized by the United States Supreme Court, | ||
| which applies in both state and federal court and may not be | ||
| abrogated by Congress or by a state or federal court except under | ||
| legislation authorized by: | ||
| (1) Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, United | ||
| States Constitution; | ||
| (2) the Bankruptcy Clause of Article I, United States | ||
| Constitution; or | ||
| (3) Congress's powers to raise and support armies and | ||
| to provide and maintain a navy. | ||
| (d) Notwithstanding any other law, the immunities conferred | ||
| by Subsection (a) shall apply in every court, both state and | ||
| federal, and in every type of adjudicative proceeding. | ||
| (e) Notwithstanding any other law, a provision of state law | ||
| may not be construed to waive or abrogate an immunity described by | ||
| Subsection (a) unless it expressly waives or abrogates immunity | ||
| with specific reference to this section. | ||
| (f) Notwithstanding any other law, an attorney representing | ||
| the state, a political subdivision, or an officer, employee, or | ||
| agent of this state or a political subdivision may not waive an | ||
| immunity described by Subsection (a) or take an action that would | ||
| result in a waiver of that immunity. A purported waiver or action | ||
| described by this subsection is void and considered an ultra vires | ||
| act. | ||
| Sec. 74.610. LIMITS ON STATE COURT JURISDICTION. (a) | ||
| Notwithstanding any other law, including Chapter 37 of this code | ||
| and Sections 22.002, 22.221, 24.007, 24.008, 24.009, 24.010, and | ||
| 24.011, Government Code, a court of this state may not award | ||
| declaratory or injunctive relief, or any type of writ, that would: | ||
| (1) pronounce any provision or application of this | ||
| subchapter invalid or unconstitutional; or | ||
| (2) restrain the state, a political subdivision, an | ||
| officer, employee, or agent of this state or a political | ||
| subdivision, or any person from: | ||
| (A) enforcing any provision or application of | ||
| this subchapter; or | ||
| (B) hearing, adjudicating, docketing, or filing | ||
| a civil action brought under this subchapter. | ||
| (b) A court of this state does not have jurisdiction to | ||
| consider an action, claim, or counterclaim that seeks relief | ||
| described by Subsection (a). | ||
| (c) This subchapter may not be construed to prevent a | ||
| litigant from asserting the invalidity or unconstitutionality of a | ||
| provision or application of this subchapter as a defense to an | ||
| action, claim, or counterclaim brought against the litigant. | ||
| (d) Notwithstanding any other law, judicial relief issued | ||
| by a court of this state that disregards immunity conferred by | ||
| Section 74.609(a) or the jurisdictional limitations imposed by this | ||
| section: | ||
| (1) is void because the court is without jurisdiction; | ||
| and | ||
| (2) may not be enforced or obeyed by an officer, | ||
| employee, or agent of this state or a political subdivision, | ||
| judicial or otherwise. | ||
| (e) Notwithstanding any other law, a writ, injunction, or | ||
| declaratory judgment issued by a court of this state that purports | ||
| to restrain the state, a political subdivision, an officer, | ||
| employee, or agent of this state or a political subdivision, or any | ||
| person from hearing, adjudicating, docketing, or filing a civil | ||
| action brought under this subchapter is void and may not be enforced | ||
| or obeyed by an officer, employee, or agent of this state or a | ||
| political subdivision, judicial or otherwise. | ||
| (f) Notwithstanding any other law, an officer, employee, or | ||
| agent of this state or a political subdivision, judicial or | ||
| otherwise, who issues, enforces, or obeys a writ, injunction, or | ||
| declaratory judgment described by Subsection (a) is liable to any | ||
| person who is prevented from or delayed in bringing a civil action | ||
| under this subchapter. A claimant who prevails in an action brought | ||
| under this subsection is entitled to: | ||
| (1) injunctive relief; | ||
| (2) compensatory damages; | ||
| (3) exemplary damages of not less than $100,000; and | ||
| (4) costs and reasonable attorney's fees. | ||
| (g) Notwithstanding any other law, a person who violates | ||
| Subsection (a) or (e): | ||
| (1) may not assert and is not entitled to any type of | ||
| immunity defense, including sovereign immunity, governmental | ||
| immunity, official immunity, or judicial immunity; | ||
| (2) may not be indemnified for an award of damages or | ||
| costs and attorney's fees entered against the person or for the | ||
| costs of the person's legal defense; and | ||
| (3) may not receive or obtain legal representation | ||
| from the attorney general of this state in an action brought against | ||
| the person under Subsection (f). | ||
| (h) Notwithstanding any other law, a person who brings an | ||
| action and seeks any writ, injunction, or declaratory judgment that | ||
| would restrain any person from hearing, adjudicating, docketing, or | ||
| filing a civil action brought under this subchapter shall pay the | ||
| costs and attorney's fees of the person against whom the action is | ||
| brought. A person entitled to recover costs and attorney's fees | ||
| under this subsection may bring a civil action to recover these | ||
| costs and attorney's fees in state or federal court. It is not a | ||
| defense to a civil action brought under this subsection that: | ||
| (1) the claimant failed to seek recovery of costs or | ||
| attorney's fees in the underlying action; | ||
| (2) the court in the underlying action declined to | ||
| recognize or enforce the requirements of this section; or | ||
| (3) the court in the underlying action held that any | ||
| provision of this section is invalid, unconstitutional, or | ||
| preempted by federal law, notwithstanding the doctrines of issue or | ||
| claim preclusion. | ||
| SECTION 2. Subchapter M, Chapter 74, Civil Practice and | ||
| Remedies Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a cause of | ||
| action that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| 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 on the 91st day after the last day of the | ||
| legislative session. | ||
