By: McClendon H.B. No. 65
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 65:
By: Menendez C.S.H.B. No. 65
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to establishing a pilot program for Bexar County for the
designation and enforcement of drug-free zones; providing
penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 125, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
is amended by adding Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. PILOT PROGRAM FOR BEXAR COUNTY ON DRUG-FREE ZONES
Sec. 125.081. PILOT PROGRAM. This subchapter is enacted as
a pilot program for Bexar County and shall be implemented by the
district courts of that county.
Sec. 125.082. DESIGNATION BY DISTRICT COURT OF DRUG-FREE
ZONE. To abate a public nuisance in Bexar County, a district court
may designate a drug-free zone in that county. The boundaries of
the zone may include public property, privately owned property, or
both.
Sec. 125.083. PUBLIC NUISANCE; USE OF PLACE. The habitual
use or the threatened or contemplated habitual use of property in
Bexar County to engage in the possession, use, manufacture, or
delivery of a controlled substance in violation of Chapter 481,
Health and Safety Code, is a public nuisance that may be abated
under this subchapter.
Sec. 125.084. SUIT TO ABATE NUISANCE. (a) The attorney
general, the district attorney or county attorney, a city attorney,
or a resident Bexar County may sue to enjoin a public nuisance under
this subchapter.
(b) A person who owns or is responsible for maintaining
property that is habitually used for engaging in the possession,
use, manufacture, or delivery of a controlled substance in
violation of Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, may be made a
defendant in the suit.
(c) If the suit is brought by an attorney representing the
state, the petition does not require verification. If the suit is
brought by a resident of Bexar County, the resident is not required
to show personal injury.
Sec. 125.085. COURT ORDER. (a) If the court finds that the
habitual use of property in Bexar County is a public nuisance under
Section 125.083, the court may enter an order designating a
geographic area in which the property is located as a drug-free zone
and may include in the order reasonable requirements to prevent the
use of the property for the possession, use, manufacture, or
delivery of a controlled substance in violation of Chapter 481,
Health and Safety Code.
(b) Reasonable requirements may include the exclusion of a
person from the drug-free zone for:
(1) 90 days if the person has been arrested for an
offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, committed in the
drug-free zone; or
(2) one year if the person was subsequently convicted
of or placed on community supervision for that offense.
(c) Before a person may be excluded from the drug-free zone
the person must have notice of the defined physical boundaries of
the drug-free zone and that reentry into the zone is forbidden.
(d) For good cause shown and found by the court, an order
entered under this section may:
(1) contain exceptions to the exclusion of a person
from the drug-free zone that allow the person to travel directly to
or from a location within the zone for the purpose of:
(A) attending a meeting with an attorney;
(B) attending a scheduled interview with a social
service provider;
(C) complying with a court-ordered or
correction-ordered obligation;
(D) contacting criminal justice personnel at a
criminal justice facility; or
(E) attending a judicial hearing relating to the
appeal of:
(i) the court order; or
(ii) the rescission or revocation of an
exception or permission granted to the person in the court order;
(2) permit an excluded person to travel within the
drug-free zone directly to and from the person's residence in
accordance with any terms of the court order;
(3) permit an excluded person to travel to, from, and
for work within the drug-free zone in accordance with any terms of
the court order, but only if the excluded person:
(A) is an owner, principal, agent, or employee of
a place of lawful employment located in the drug-free zone; or
(B) provides proof that the person is required to
perform lawful services related to the person's employment or
occupation in the drug-free zone;
(4) permit an excluded person to travel within the
drug-free zone in accordance with any terms of the court order, if:
(A) the excluded person is in need of social
services in the drug-free zone;
(B) the social services are sought for reasons
relating to the health or well-being of the excluded person; and
(C) the social services agency has written rules
that prohibit the unlawful possession, use, or delivery of a
controlled substance by a client of the agency;
(5) permit an excluded person to travel within the
drug-free zone in accordance with any terms of the court order to:
(A) enroll as a student at a bona fide
educational institution or facility located within the drug-free
zone; or
(B) attend as a student a bona fide educational
institution or facility located within the drug-free zone; and
(6) contain any other reasonable term or condition
that the court in the exercise of its discretion considers to be
necessary or advisable.
(e) The court may modify, rescind, or revoke an exception or
permission granted under Subsection (d) if:
(1) the court determines that the excluded person
provided false information to obtain the exception or permission;
(2) there is probable cause to believe the person has
committed or been convicted of an offense under Chapter 481, Health
and Safety Code, in the drug-free zone subsequent to the entry of
the court order; or
(3) the circumstances giving rise to the exception or
permission no longer support its continuation.
(e) Unless an earlier date is specified in the order, an
order under this subchapter expires on the second anniversary of
the date it is signed, except that the court, on a motion by any
party to the suit, may at any time extend the term of the order, not
to exceed an additional two years.
Sec. 125.086. VIOLATION OF COURT ORDER: CIVIL CONTEMPT. A
person who violates a temporary or permanent injunctive order
issued under this subchapter is subject to the following penalties
for civil contempt:
(1) a fine of not less than $1,000 or more than
$10,000;
(2) confinement in county jail for a term of not less
than 10 days or more than 30 days; or
(3) both the fine and confinement.
Sec. 125.088. VIOLATION OF COURT ORDER: CRIMINAL PENALTY.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly violates a
temporary or permanent order issued under this subchapter.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor may be
prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.
Sec. 125.089. REPORTS TO THE LEGISLATURE. Not later than
December 31 of each even-numbered year, the district judges of
Bexar County shall submit a report to the governor and the
legislature regarding the implementation of the pilot program
established by this subchapter.
Sec. 125.090. EXPIRATION. (a) This subchapter expires
December 31, 2015.
(b) An order under this subchapter that is in effect on
December 31, 2015, automatically expires on that date.
SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 125, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, as added by this Act, applies only to conduct that
occurs on or after the effective date of this Act, except that
evidence of conduct that occurred before the effective date of this
Act may be considered for the purpose of determining whether
property is habitually used for the purpose of possessing, using,
manufacturing, or delivering a controlled substance in violation of
Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code. Conduct that occurred before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when
the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
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, 2005.