78R2784 BDH-D

By:  Wilson                                                       H.B. No. 481



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to racial profiling by airport security personnel; 
imposing a criminal penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 39, Penal Code, is amended by adding 
Section 39.07 to read as follows:
	Sec. 39.07.  RACIAL PROFILING BY AIRPORT SECURITY PERSONNEL. 
(a) A person employed for the purpose of providing airport 
security, including screening luggage, commits an offense if the 
employee engages in racial profiling.
	(b)  An offense under this section is a state jail felony.              
	(c)  In this section, "racial profiling" means an airport 
security-initiated action based on an individual's race, 
ethnicity, or national origin rather than on the individual's 
behavior or on information identifying the individual as having 
engaged in criminal activity.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.