Bill Text: TX HB4 | 2023 | 88th Legislature 3rd Special Session | Comm Sub

Texas House Bill 4 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Relating to the creation of the criminal offense of improper entry from a foreign nation and indemnification of certain claims relating to the enforcement of that offense.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 60-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-11-02 - Committee report printed and distributed [HB4 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB4-Comm_Sub.html



	By: Spiller, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Birdwell)	H.B. No. 4
	(In the Senate - Received from the House October 26, 2023;
	October 26, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on
	Border Security; November 2, 2023, reported adversely, with
	favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 3,
	Nays 2; November 2, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

	COMMITTEE VOTE YeaNayAbsent PNVBirdwell X Flores X Blanco X Hinojosa X King X COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 4	By: Birdwell


	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT

	relating to the creation of the criminal offense of improper entry
	from a foreign nation and indemnification of certain claims
	relating to the enforcement of that offense.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Chapter 38, Penal Code, is amended by adding
	Section 38.20 to read as follows:
	Sec. 38.20. IMPROPER ENTRY FROM FOREIGN NATION. (a) In
	this section, "alien" has the meaning assigned by 8 U.S.C. Section
	1101, as that provision existed on January 1, 2023.
	(b) A person who is an alien commits an offense if the
	person:
	(1) enters or attempts to enter this state from a
	foreign nation at any location other than a lawful point of entry;
	(2) eludes examination or inspection by United States
	immigration officers; or
	(3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to this state
	from a foreign nation by an intentionally false or misleading
	representation or the intentional concealment of a material fact.
	(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor,
	except that if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
	person has previously been finally convicted of:
	(1) an offense under this section, the offense is a
	state jail felony;
	(2) a state jail felony described by Subdivision (1)
	or any other felony not listed in Article 42A.054(a), Code of
	Criminal Procedure, the offense is a felony of the second degree; or
	(3) a felony listed in Article 42A.054(a), Code of
	Criminal Procedure, the offense is a felony of the first degree.
	(d) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
	section that:
	(1) the actor has been granted a federal immigration
	benefit entitling the actor to:
	(A) lawful presence in the United States; or
	(B) asylum under 8 U.S.C. Section 1158;
	(2) the actor's conduct does not constitute a
	violation of 8 U.S.C. Section 1325(a); or
	(3) the actor was approved for benefits under the
	federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program between June
	15, 2012, and July 16, 2021.
	(e) For purposes of Subsection (d)(1), the following
	federal programs do not confer federal immigration benefits
	entitling the actor to lawful presence in the United States:
	(1) the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and
	Lawful Permanent Residents; and
	(2) any program not enacted by the United States
	Congress that is a successor to or materially similar to the program
	described by Subdivision (1) or Subsection (d)(3).
	(f) A court may not abate the prosecution of an offense
	under this section on the basis that a federal determination
	regarding the immigration status of the actor is pending.
	(g) A law enforcement officer of the Department of Public
	Safety who arrests a person for an offense under this section shall,
	to the extent feasible, detain the person in a facility established
	under Operation Lone Star or a similar border security operation of
	this state.
	(h) A peace officer may not arrest a person for an offense
	under this section unless the officer has probable cause to believe
	that the person engaged in the conduct constituting the offense.
	(i) On conviction of an offense under this section, the
	judge shall enter in the judgment in the case an order requiring
	that the person be returned to federal authorities at the nearest
	port of entry for return to the person's country of origin or the
	foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter.
	An order issued under this subsection:
	(1) takes effect on completion of a term of
	confinement or imprisonment imposed by the judgment; and
	(2) must include the manner of transportation of the
	person to the port of entry and the state agency responsible for
	transporting the person and monitoring compliance with the order.
	SECTION 2. Title 5, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
	amended by adding Chapter 117 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 117. INDEMNIFICATION OF CERTAIN CLAIMS RELATING TO
	ENFORCEMENT OF OFFENSE OF IMPROPER ENTRY FROM FOREIGN NATION
	Sec. 117.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "damages"
	includes any and all damages, fines, fees, penalties, court costs,
	attorney's fees, or other assessments.
	Sec. 117.002. LOCAL GOVERNMENT INDEMNIFICATION OF LOCAL
	GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, EMPLOYEES, AND CONTRACTORS. (a) Unless the
	court or jury determines that the official, employee, or contractor
	acted in bad faith, with conscious indifference, or with
	recklessness, a local government shall indemnify an official,
	employee, or contractor of the local government for damages arising
	from a cause of action resulting from an action taken by the
	official, employee, or contractor to enforce Section 38.20, Penal
	Code, during the course and scope of the official's, employee's, or
	contractor's office, employment, or contractual performance for or
	service on behalf of the local government.
	(b) Indemnification payments made under Subsection (a) by a
	local government may not exceed:
	(1) $100,000 to any one person or $300,000 for any
	single occurrence in the case of personal injury or death; or
	(2) $10,000 for a single occurrence of property
	damage.
	(c) A local government shall indemnify an official,
	employee, or contractor of the local government for reasonable
	attorney's fees incurred in defense of a criminal prosecution
	against the official, employee, or contractor for an action taken
	by the official, employee, or contractor to enforce Section 38.20,
	Penal Code, during the course and scope of the official's,
	employee's, or contractor's office, employment, or contractual
	performance for or service on behalf of the local government.
	(d) This section may not be construed to waive any statutory
	limits on damages under state law.
	Sec. 117.003. STATE INDEMNIFICATION OF STATE OFFICIALS,
	EMPLOYEES, AND CONTRACTORS; ATTORNEY GENERAL REPRESENTATION. (a)
	Unless the court or jury determines that the state official,
	employee, or contractor acted in bad faith, with conscious
	indifference, or with recklessness, the state shall indemnify an
	elected or appointed state official or a state employee or
	contractor for damages arising from a cause of action resulting
	from an action taken by the official, employee, or contractor to
	enforce Section 38.20, Penal Code, during the course and scope of
	the official's, employee's, or contractor's office, employment, or
	contractual performance for or service on behalf of the state.
	(b) Notwithstanding any other law, indemnification under
	Subsection (a) is not subject to any indemnification limits under
	state law.
	(c) The state shall indemnify a state official, employee, or
	contractor for reasonable attorney's fees incurred in defense of a
	criminal prosecution against the official, employee, or contractor
	for an action taken by the official, employee, or contractor to
	enforce Section 38.20, Penal Code, during the course and scope of
	the official's, employee's, or contractor's office, employment, or
	contractual performance for or service on behalf of the state.
	(d) A state official, employee, or contractor who may be
	entitled to indemnification under Subsection (a) is entitled to
	representation by the attorney general, subject to Chapter 104, in
	an action in connection with which the official, employee, or
	contractor may be entitled to that indemnification.
	(e) This section may not be construed to waive any statutory
	limits on damages under state law.
	Sec. 117.004. APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT. For a civil action
	brought against a person who may be entitled under Section 117.002
	or 117.003 to indemnification for damages awarded against the
	person in the action, an appeal must be taken directly to the
	supreme court.
	Sec. 117.005. OTHER LAWS NOT AFFECTED. This chapter does
	not affect a defense, immunity, or jurisdictional bar available to
	the state or a local government or an official, employee, or
	contractor of the state or a local government.
	SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 42A, Code of Criminal
	Procedure, is amended by adding Article 42A.059 to read as follows:
	Art. 42A.059. PLACEMENT ON COMMUNITY SUPERVISION
	PROHIBITED FOR IMPROPER ENTRY FROM FOREIGN NATION. Notwithstanding
	any other provision of this chapter, a defendant is not eligible for
	community supervision, including deferred adjudication community
	supervision, under this chapter if the defendant is charged with or
	convicted of an offense under Section 38.20, Penal Code.
	SECTION 4. Section 508.145(a), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(a) An inmate is not eligible for release on parole if the
	inmate is under sentence of death, serving a sentence of life
	imprisonment without parole, or serving a sentence for any of the
	following offenses under the Penal Code:
	(1) Section 20A.03, if the offense is based partly or
	wholly on conduct constituting an offense under Section
	20A.02(a)(5), (6), (7), or (8);
	(2) Section 21.02; [or]
	(3) Section 22.021, if the offense is punishable under
	Subsection (f) of that section; or
	(4) Section 38.20.
	SECTION 5. Section 508.149, Government Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
	(a-1) An inmate serving a sentence for an offense under
	Section 38.20, Penal Code, may not be released to mandatory
	supervision.
	SECTION 6. It is the intent of the legislature that every
	provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
	in this Act, and every application of the provisions in this Act to
	every person, group of persons, or circumstances, is severable from
	each other. If any application of any provision in this Act to any
	person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be
	invalid for any reason, the remaining applications of that
	provision to all other persons and circumstances shall be severed
	and may not be affected.
	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
	last day of the legislative session.

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