By: Bernal, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Flores) H.B. No. 238
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 2023;
  May 1, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Water,
  Agriculture & Rural Affairs; May 19, 2023, reported favorably by
  the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 19, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the regulation of migrant labor housing facilities;
  changing the amount of a civil penalty.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
  amended by amending Section 2306.933 and adding Sections 2306.934,
  2306.935, 2306.936, 2306.937, 2306.938, 2306.939, and 2306.940 to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 2306.933.  CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates
  this subchapter or a rule adopted under this subchapter is subject
  to a civil penalty of not less than $50 for each person occupying
  the migrant labor housing facility in violation of this subchapter
  [$200] for each day that the violation occurs.
         (b)  An [The county attorney for the county in which the
  violation occurred, or the attorney general, at the request of the
  department, shall bring an] action [in the name of the state] to
  collect a civil [the] penalty under this section may be brought by:
               (1)  the department through the contested case hearing
  process described by Section 2306.930(b); 
               (2)  the county attorney for the county in which the
  violation occurred, or the attorney general, at the request of the
  department; or
               (3)  a migrant agricultural worker if:
                     (A)  a complaint regarding the violation for which
  the civil penalty is sought has been submitted under Section
  2306.934; and
                     (B)  at the time the complaint described by
  Paragraph (A) is submitted, the worker:
                           (i)  lives in the migrant labor housing
  facility that is the subject of the complaint; and
                           (ii)  is not temporarily in the United
  States under an H2-A visa authorized by 8 U.S.C. Section
  1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a).
         (c)  An action to collect a civil penalty under this section
  may not be brought while:
               (1)  a contested case hearing, brought by the
  department under Section 2306.930(b) and relating to the same
  migrant labor housing facility, is pending; 
               (2)  an action for injunctive relief relating to the
  same violation is pending under Section 2306.932;
               (3)  an action brought by a county attorney or the
  attorney general and relating to the same migrant labor housing
  facility is pending; or
               (4)  the operator of the migrant labor housing facility
  that is the subject of the action is:
                     (A)  waiting for the facility to be inspected
  under Section 2306.935(c) to confirm remediation of the violation
  that is the subject of the action; or 
                     (B)  providing housing at a facility under Section
  2306.936(d) to which the migrant agricultural workers who occupied
  the facility that is the subject of the action have been relocated.
         (d)  A civil penalty under this section begins accruing on
  the earlier of:
               (1)  for a violation with a remediation period
  described by Section 2306.935, the day that:
                     (A)  the department determines based on
  information submitted under Section 2306.935(b) that the operator
  has failed to remedy the violation; or
                     (B)  an inspection described by Section
  2306.935(c) establishes that the migrant housing facility operator
  has failed to remedy the violation; or
               (2)  for a violation with a remediation period
  described by Section 2306.936, the 31st day following the date that
  notification of the complaint is received from the department,
  unless the operator has relocated under Section 2306.936(d) the
  migrant agricultural workers who occupied the facility that is the
  subject of the complaint.
         (e)  The department by rule shall adopt a penalty schedule
  that increases the amount of the penalty assessed against a person
  who repeatedly violates this subchapter or rules adopted under this
  subchapter.
         (f)  A penalty collected under Subsection (b)(1) or (2) shall
  be deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund and may be
  appropriated only to the department for the enforcement of this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 2306.934.  COMPLAINT; NOTICE; DISMISSAL.  (a) In this
  section, "designated representative" means an individual or
  organization to whom a migrant agricultural worker has given
  written authorization to exercise the worker's right to file a
  complaint under this section.
         (a-1)  The department by rule shall establish a process for:
               (1)  the submission to the department of a complaint
  regarding a migrant labor housing facility;  
               (2)  determining whether a complaint is unfounded or
  does not violate the standards adopted by the department; and
               (3)  the investigation, resolution, or dismissal of a
  complaint submitted under Subdivision (1), including confirmation
  of remediation through the methods described by Sections 2306.935
  and 2306.936.
         (a-2)  The process established under Subsection (a-1)(1)
  must allow the submission of complaints:
               (1)  only by:
                     (A)  an occupant of the migrant labor housing
  facility that is the subject of the complaint;
                     (B)  a prospective occupant of the migrant labor
  housing facility that is the subject of the complaint;
                     (C)  the designated representative of a person
  described by Paragraph (A) or (B); or
                     (D)  an individual, including the owner or tenant
  of an adjacent property, that has observed a clear violation of this
  subchapter; and
               (2)  through the department's Internet website, in
  person at any department office, or by telephone or written notice
  to the department.
         (b)  Not later than the fifth day after the date on which the
  department receives a complaint, the department shall notify the
  operator of the migrant labor housing facility that is the subject
  of the complaint. Notice under this subsection must include:
               (1)  the date that the complaint was received;
               (2)  the subject matter of the complaint;
               (3)  the name of each person contacted in relation to
  the complaint, if any; and
               (4)  the timeline for remedying a complaint that is not
  otherwise dismissed by the department.
         (c)  If the department is unable to make contact with an
  operator of a migrant labor housing facility for the purpose of
  serving a notification of a complaint, the department shall serve
  the notification of the complaint via registered or certified mail,
  return receipt requested.
         (d)  If the department determines that a complaint is
  unfounded or does not violate the standards adopted by rule, the
  department may dismiss the complaint and shall include a statement
  of the reason for the dismissal in the record of the complaint.  The
  department shall provide timely notice of any dismissal of the
  complaint, including the explanation for the dismissal, to the
  operator of the migrant labor housing facility that is the subject
  of the complaint.
         (e)  A designated representative may not be required to
  reveal the name of any migrant agricultural worker on whose behalf
  the representative submitted a complaint under this section if the
  department reviews the written authorization establishing the
  representation and verifies that the representative is authorized
  to submit the complaint.
         Sec. 2306.935.  REMEDIATION OF COMPLAINT IN GENERAL. (a)
  Subject to Section 2306.936, not later than the seventh day after
  the date that notice is received under Section 2306.934, the
  operator of a migrant labor housing facility shall remedy the
  complaint.
         (b)  The department by rule shall establish a procedure by
  which the operator of a migrant labor housing facility may submit
  proof of remediation of a complaint through visual evidence and a
  sworn affidavit.
         (c)  For an operator of a migrant labor housing facility who
  receives notice under Section 2306.934(c) or who does not submit
  proof of remediation in the manner provided by Subsection (b), the
  department shall have the facility inspected as soon as possible
  following the seventh day after the date that notice is received
  under Section 2306.934, to ensure remediation of the complaint. 
         Sec. 2306.936.  REMEDIATION OF COMPLAINT REGARDING CERTAIN
  VIOLATIONS. (a)  This section applies only to a complaint that
  alleges a violation that the department determines poses an
  imminent hazard or threat to the health and safety of the occupants
  of the facility, including violations of rules adopted by the
  department concerning sanitation.
         (b)  Subject to Subsection (d), not later than the 30th day
  after the date that notice is received under Section 2306.934, the
  operator of a migrant labor housing facility that is the subject of
  a complaint described by Subsection (a) shall remedy the complaint.
         (c)  The department may refer a complaint described by
  Subsection (a) to a local authority for immediate inspection of the
  migrant labor housing facility. 
         (d)  The department by rule shall establish a procedure for
  requiring the owner of a migrant labor housing facility to relocate
  or provide for the relocation to another housing facility of the
  occupants of a facility that is the subject of a complaint under
  Subsection (a) if the remediation of that complaint is projected to
  take longer than a period of 30 days. A housing facility to which a
  person is relocated under this subsection:
               (1)  must meet the occupancy standards adopted under
  this subchapter;
               (2)  must be located in the same vicinity as the vacated
  facility; and
               (3)  may not require a rent payment from a displaced
  migrant agricultural worker that exceeds the rent charged for the
  vacated facility. 
         (e)  Subsection (d) does not apply to a migrant agricultural
  worker who is temporarily in the United States under an H2-A visa
  authorized under 8 U.S.C. Section 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a).
         Sec. 2306.937.  RETALIATION PROHIBITED. A person who owns,
  establishes, maintains, operates, or otherwise provides a migrant
  labor housing facility, a person who employs a migrant agricultural
  worker who occupies a migrant labor housing facility, or a farm
  labor contractor may not retaliate against a person for filing a
  complaint or providing information in good faith relating to a
  possible violation of this subchapter.
         Sec. 2306.938.  ATTORNEY'S FEES. The court in a suit brought
  under this subchapter may award reasonable attorney's fees to the
  prevailing party.
         Sec. 2306.939.  INTERAGENCY COOPERATION. (a) The
  department shall identify other state agencies that may interact
  with occupants of migrant housing facilities to assist the
  department in identifying and locating unlicensed migrant labor
  housing facilities.
         (b)  Information provided to the department under this
  section:
               (1)  may be used only for the purposes of identifying
  and locating unlicensed migrant labor housing facilities;
               (2)  must be free of identification information
  relating to individual migrant agricultural workers; and
               (3)  is confidential and not subject to disclosure
  under Chapter 552.
         Sec. 2306.940.  OUTREACH AND EDUCATION. (a) The department
  shall provide:
               (1)  to migrant agricultural workers in different
  regions of the state, educational materials or programs that are
  presented in English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate
  and that inform the workers of their rights and remedies under this
  subchapter; and
               (2)  to persons who own, establish, maintain, operate,
  procure, make arrangements for, or otherwise provide migrant labor
  housing facilities, educational materials or programs that are
  presented in English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate
  and that inform the persons of their obligations under this
  subchapter.
         (b)  To better provide the services described by Subsection
  (a), the department shall:
               (1)  ensure that, in each region of the state where
  migrant labor housing facilities are most common, there are persons
  capable of providing the information described by Subsection (a) in
  English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate; and
               (2)  conduct research, including by surveying migrant
  agricultural workers, concerning:
                     (A)  what types of migrant labor housing
  facilities are most common in different regions of the state; and
                     (B)  what regions of the state most need
  additional or improved migrant labor housing facilities.
         SECTION 2.  Not later than March 1, 2024, the Texas
  Department of Housing and Community Affairs shall adopt the rules
  necessary to implement Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government
  Code, as amended by this Act.
         SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act in amending
  Section 2306.933, Government Code, and adding Sections 2306.934,
  2306.935, 2306.936, 2306.938, and 2306.939, Government Code,
  applies only to a violation that occurs on or after the effective
  date of this Act. A violation that occurs before the effective date
  of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
  violation occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
  that purpose. For purposes of this section, a violation occurs
  before the effective date of this Act if any element of the
  violation occurs before that date.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
 
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