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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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preserving religious liberty from nativist jurisprudence. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Protection of |
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Religious Liberty from Nativist Jurisprudence Act. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 110, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, |
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is amended by adding Subchapter B to read as follows: |
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SUBCHAPTER B. PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY |
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Sec. 110.020. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: |
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(1) "state officer or employee" includes any state or local |
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officer or employee of this State, including any member of the board |
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of trustees of any school district in this state, and any teacher, |
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principal, administrator, or other person employed by any school |
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district in this state; |
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(2) "court" includes any court of this State (other than an |
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administrative or agency tribunal) or any Article III court of the |
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United States; |
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(3) "Blaine amendments" refers to: (a) the provision |
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codified at article I, section 7 of the Texas Constitution, which |
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reads: "No money shall be appropriated, or drawn from the Treasury |
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for the benefit of any sect, or religious society, theological or |
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religious seminary; nor shall property belonging to the State be |
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appropriated for any such purposes"; and (b) the third sentence of |
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article VII, section 5(c) of the Texas Constitution, which reads: |
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"The permanent school fund and the available school fund may not be |
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appropriated to or used for the support of any sectarian school"; |
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(4) "the Separation of Church and State doctrine" means (a) |
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any restriction, or denial of a benefit, that purports to be |
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justified on grounds of Separation of Church and State or any |
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element of the Supreme Court's decision in Lemon v. Kurtzman; or (b) |
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any restriction, or denial of a benefit, that purports to be |
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justified by the Blaine amendments. |
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Sec. 110.021. BLAINE AMENDMENTS. No state officer or |
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employee may enforce the Blaine Amendments unless and until the |
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Supreme Court of the United States overrules Espinoza v. Montana |
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Dept. Of Revenue, 140 S. Ct. 2246 (2020). |
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Sec. 110.022. SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. Except as |
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provided in section 110.024, no state officer or employee may |
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enforce the Separation of Church and State doctrine against any |
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person or entity in this state. |
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Sec. 110.023. INCORPORATION. Except as provided in section |
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110.024, no state officer or employee may enforce the Establishment |
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Clause of the First Amendment against any person or entity other |
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than the federal government, its officers, or its |
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instrumentalities. |
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Sec. 110.024. EXCEPTIONS. Notwithstanding the |
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requirements of sections 110.022 and 110.023, a state officer or |
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employee may enforce the Separation of Church and State doctrine or |
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the Establishment Clause as necessary to comply with: |
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(a) a judgment or decree entered by a court against that |
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specific officer or employee, his superiors, or the entity for whom |
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he works; or |
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(b) a directly-on-point ruling from the Supreme Court of the |
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United States or the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, |
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when there is no reasonable grounds for distinguishing that ruling |
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factually or legally. |
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Sec. 110.025. CHURCH SPEECH. No state or local officer may |
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enforce any restrictions on speech or expression, whether in the |
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form of direct duties or conditions, that single out churches or |
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other religious organizations; nor shall any state or local officer |
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chill the speech of any person, or other entity, in this state by |
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publishing any such restrictions as law or required by law. |
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Sec. 110.026. REMEDIES. (a) Any person or other entity |
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residing, praying, preaching, or doing business in this State may |
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bring a civil action in any court of this State against any state or |
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local officer who violates this subchapter, and upon finding that |
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the defendant has violated or is violating that person or entity's |
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rights under this statute, the Court shall award: |
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(1) Declaratory relief; |
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(2) Injunctive relief; and |
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(3) Costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. |
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(b) The plaintiff in any action brought under this section |
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shall have the right to a jury trial. |
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Sec. 110.027. AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES IN ESTABLISHMENT |
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CLAUSE LAWSUITS. (a) Any person, entity, lawyer, or law firm that |
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sues to enforce the Blaine Amendments, the Separation of Church and |
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State Doctrine, or the Establishment Clause against any person or |
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entity in the State of Texas, in any state or federal court, or that |
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represents any litigant seeking such relief in any state or federal |
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court, shall be jointly and severally liable to pay the costs and |
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attorneys' fees of the prevailing party or parties, notwithstanding |
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any other provision of law. |
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(b) A litigant shall be deemed a "prevailing party" under |
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this section if a state or federal court dismisses any claim or |
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cause of action brought against it that seeks the relief described |
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in subsection (a), regardless of the reason for such dismissal, or |
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if a state or federal court enters judgment in its favor on any such |
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claim or cause of action. |
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(c) A prevailing party under this section may bring a civil |
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action to recover costs and attorneys' fees against a person, |
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entity, lawyer, or law firm that sought declaratory or injunctive |
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relief described in subsection (a) within three (3) years of the |
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date on which the dismissal or judgment described in subsection (b) |
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becomes final upon the conclusion of appellate review, or within |
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three (3) years of the date on which the time for seeking appellate |
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review expires, regardless of whether the prevailing party sought |
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to recover costs or attorneys' fees in the underlying action. It |
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shall not be a defense that the prevailing party failed to seek |
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recovery of costs or attorneys' fees in the underlying action, and |
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it shall not be a defense that the court in the underlying action |
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declined to recognize or enforce the requirements of this section. |
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(d) An award of costs and attorneys' fees under this section |
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shall include interest. |
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Sec. 110.027. SEVERABILITY. Every provision, section, |
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subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this subchapter, |
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and every application of the provisions in this subchapter to every |
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person, groups of persons, or circumstances, are severable from |
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each other. If any application of any provision in this subchapter |
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to any person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a |
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court to be unconstitutional or invalid, on any ground for any |
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reason whatsoever, then the remaining applications of that |
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provision to all other persons and circumstances shall be severed |
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and may not be affected. All constitutional applications of this |
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subchapter shall be severed from any applications that a court |
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finds to be unconstitutional, leaving the constitutional |
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applications in force, because it is the Legislature's intent and |
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priority that the constitutional applications be allowed to stand |
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alone. The Legislature further declares that it would have passed |
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this subchapter, and each provision, section, subsection, |
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sentence, clause, phrase, or word, and all constitutional |
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applications of this subchapter, irrespective of the fact that any |
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provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word, |
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or applications of this subchapter, were to be declared |
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unconstitutional by any court. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |