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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the municipal or county regulation of residential |
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detention facilities for immigrant or refugee children. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Chapter 250, Local Government Code, is amended |
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by adding Section 250.011 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 250.011. RESIDENTIAL IMMIGRANT OR REFUGEE CHILD |
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DETENTION FACILITIES. (a) In this section, "residential child |
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detention facility" means a private facility that operates under a |
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contract with the United States Immigration and Customs |
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Enforcement, the United States Department of Health and Human |
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Services, or another federal agency to provide 24-hour custody or |
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care to unaccompanied immigrant or refugee children. |
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(b) A municipality or a county may adopt and enforce an |
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ordinance, order, or other regulation that requires a residential |
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child detention facility to: |
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(1) provide adequate water, wastewater, or other |
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utilities for the facility; and |
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(2) meet reasonable minimum standards that promote the |
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health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the facility. |
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(c) A county may not regulate under Subsection (b) a |
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facility that is located in the corporate boundaries of a |
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municipality. |
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(d) Before entering into a contract with a federal agency to |
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operate as a residential child detention facility, the owner or |
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operator of the proposed residential child detention facility must: |
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(1) provide notice of the proposed facility to: |
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(A) if the facility is located in a municipality, |
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the governing body of the municipality; or |
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(B) if the facility is located in the |
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unincorporated area of a county, the commissioners court of the |
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county; and |
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(2) meet any requirements adopted by the municipality |
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or county under Subsection (b). |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |