By: Middleton S.B. No. 1879
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to preserving religious liberty from nativist
  jurisprudence.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  This Act shall be known as the Protection of
  Religious Liberty from Nativist Jurisprudence Act.
         SECTION 2.  Title 5, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
  amended by adding Chapter 110A to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 110A. PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
  SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
         Sec. 110A.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Blaine amendments" means:
                     (A)  Section 7, Article I, Texas Constitution; and
                     (B)  the third sentence of Section 5(c), Article
  VII, Texas Constitution.
               (2)  "Governmental officer or employee" means an
  officer or employee of this state or a political subdivision. The
  term includes a member of the board of trustees of a school district
  and a teacher, principal, administrator, or other individual
  employed by a school district.
               (3)  "Separation of Church and State Doctrine" means:
                     (A)  any restriction, or denial of a benefit, that
  purports to be justified on the grounds of separation of church and
  state or any element of the United States Supreme Court's decision
  in Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971); or
                     (B)  any restriction, or denial of a benefit, that
  purports to be justified by the Blaine amendments.
  SUBCHAPTER B. PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
         Sec. 110A.051.  ENFORCEMENT OF BLAINE AMENDMENTS. A
  governmental officer or employee may not enforce the Blaine
  amendments unless the United States Supreme Court overrules Carson
  v. Makin, 142 S. Ct. 1987 (2022), and Espinoza v. Montana Department , 142 S. Ct. 1987 (2022), and Espinoza v. Montana Department
  of Revenue, 140 S. Ct. 2246 (2020)., 140 S. Ct. 2246 (2020).
         Sec. 110A.052.  ENFORCEMENT OF SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND
  STATE DOCTRINE. Except as provided in section 110A.054, a
  governmental officer or employee may not enforce the Separation of
  Church and State Doctrine against any person in this state.
         Sec. 110A.053.  ENFORCEMENT OF ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE. Except
  as provided in section 110A.054, a governmental officer or employee
  may not enforce the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of
  the United States Constitution against any person other than the
  federal government, its officers, or its instrumentalities.
         Sec. 110A.054.  EXCEPTIONS. Notwithstanding Sections
  110A.052 and 110A.053, a governmental officer or employee may
  enforce the Separation of Church and State Doctrine or the
  Establishment Clause if necessary to comply with:
               (1)  a judgment or decree entered by a court against
  that specific officer or employee, the officer's or employee's
  superiors, or the entity that employs the officer or employee; or
               (2)  a directly-on-point ruling from the United States
  Supreme Court of the United States or the United States Court of
  Appeals for the Fifth Circuit if there are no reasonable grounds for
  distinguishing that ruling factually or legally from the basis for
  the officer's or employee's enforcement action.
         Sec. 110A.055.  RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION SPEECH PROTECTED. A
  governmental officer or employee may not:
               (1)  adopt or enforce any restrictions on speech or
  expression, whether in the form of direct duties or conditions,
  that singles out churches or other religious organizations; or
               (2)  chill the speech of any person by publishing a
  statement that a restriction described by Subdivision (1) is the
  law or is required by law.
         Sec. 110A.056.  REMEDIES. (a) Any person injured or
  adversely affected by a violation of this chapter has standing to
  bring and may bring a civil action in any court of this state
  against any governmental officer or employee who violates this
  chapter.
         (b)  On a finding that the defendant has violated or is
  violating the claimant's rights under this chapter, the court in an
  action brought under this section shall award:
               (1)  declaratory relief;
               (2)  injunctive relief; and
               (3)  costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
         (c)  The claimant in an action brought under this section is
  entitled to a jury trial.
         Sec. 110A.057.  ATTORNEY'S FEES FOR ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE
  ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, any
  person, including an entity, attorney, or law firm, that brings an
  action to enforce the Blaine amendments, the Separation of Church
  and State Doctrine, or the Establishment Clause of the First
  Amendment to the United States Constitution against any person in
  this state in any state or federal court, or that represents a
  litigant seeking such relief in any state or federal court, is
  jointly and severally liable for the costs and reasonable
  attorney's fees of the party against whom such relief is sought if
  that party prevails, including the costs and reasonable attorney's
  fees that the prevailing party incurs in its efforts to recover
  costs and fees.
         (b)  A party is considered to prevail under Subsection (a)
  if:
               (1)  a state or federal court dismisses any claim or
  cause of action described by Subsection (a) against the party,
  regardless of the reason for the dismissal; or
               (2)  a state or federal court enters judgment in the
  party's favor on a claim or cause of action described by Subsection
  (a).
         (c)  A prevailing party may recover costs and attorney's fees
  under this section only to the extent that those costs and
  attorney's fees were incurred while defending claims or causes of
  action on which the party prevailed.
         (d)  A prevailing party under this section may bring a civil
  action to recover costs and attorney's fees under this section not
  later than the third anniversary of the later of:
               (1)  the date on which the dismissal or judgment
  described by Subsection (b) becomes final; or
               (2)  the date on which the time for seeking appellate
  review of the dismissal or judgment described by Subsection (b)
  expires.
         (e)  A prevailing party under this section may bring an
  action under Subsection (d) regardless of whether the party sought
  to recover costs or attorney's fees in the underlying action. It is
  not a defense that:
               (1)  the prevailing party failed to seek costs or
  attorney's fees in the underlying action; or
               (2)  the court in the underlying action declined to
  recognize or enforce the requirements of this section; or
               (3)  the court in the underlying action held that any
  provisions of this section are invalid, unconstitutional, or
  preempted by federal law, notwithstanding the doctrines of issue or
  claim preclusion.
         (f)  Notwithstanding any other law, including Chapter 15,
  Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a civil action brought under
  Subsection (d) may be brought in:
               (1)  the county in which all or a substantial part of
  the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred;
               (2)  the county of residence for any one of the natural
  person defendants at the time the cause of action accrued;
               (3)  the county of the principal office in this state of
  any one of the defendants that is not a natural person; or
               (4)  the county of residence for the claimant if the
  claimant is a natural person residing in this state.
         (g)  If a civil action is brought under Subsection (d) in any
  one of the venues described by Subsection (f), then the action may
  not be transferred to a different venue without the written consent
  of all parties.
         (h)  Any contractual choice-of-forum provision that purports
  to require a civil action under Subsection (d) to be litigated in
  another forum shall be void as against public policy, and may not be
  enforced in any state or federal court.
         (i)  A prevailing party under this section may recover
  interest on costs and attorney's fees in an action brought under
  Subsection (d).
         Sec. 110A.058.  IMMUNITY DEFENSES WAIVED. A governmental
  officer or employee may not assert sovereign immunity, governmental
  immunity, official immunity, qualified immunity, or any other form
  of immunity as a defense in an action brought under this chapter.
         Sec. 110A.059.  IMMUNITIES PRESERVED. (a) Notwithstanding
  any other law, the state and each of its officers and employees
  shall have sovereign immunity, its political subdivisions and each
  of their officers and employees shall have governmental immunity,
  and each officer and employee of this state or a political
  subdivision shall have official immunity (as well as sovereign or
  governmental immunity, as appropriate) in any action, claim,
  counterclaim, or any type of legal or equitable action that
  challenges the validity of any provision or application of this
  chapter, on constitutional grounds or otherwise, or that seeks to
  prevent or enjoin the state, its political subdivisions, or any
  officer, employee, or agent of this state or a political
  subdivision from enforcing any provision or application of this
  chapter, or from hearing, adjudicating, or docketing a civil action
  brought under Section 110A.056 or Section 110A.057 unless that
  immunity has been abrogated or preempted by federal law in a manner
  consistent with the Constitution of the United States. The
  sovereign immunity conferred by this section upon the state and
  each of its officers and employees includes the constitutional
  sovereign immunity recognized by the Supreme Court of the United
  States in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44 (1996),
  and Alden v. Maine, 527 U.S. 706 (1999), which applies in both state
  and federal court and which may not be abrogated by Congress or by
  any state or federal court except pursuant to legislation
  authorized by section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, by the
  Bankruptcy Clause of Article I, or by Congress's powers to raise and
  support Armies and to provide and maintain a Navy.
         (b)  Notwithstanding any other law, the immunities conferred
  by Subsection (a) shall apply in every court, both state and
  federal, and in every adjudicative proceeding of any type
  whatsoever.
         (c)  Notwithstanding any other law, no provision of state law
  may be construed to waive or abrogate an immunity described in
  Subsection (a) unless it expressly waives or abrogates immunity
  with specific reference to this section.
         (d)  Notwithstanding any other law, no attorney representing
  the state, its political subdivisions, or any officer, employee, or
  agent of this state or a political subdivision is authorized or
  permitted to waive an immunity described in Subsection (a) or take
  any action that would result in a waiver of that immunity, and any
  such action or purported waiver shall be regarded as a legal nullity
  and an ultra vires act.
         (e)  Notwithstanding any other law, including Chapter 37,
  Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and sections 22.002, 22.221, and
  24.007 through 24.011, Government Code, no court of this state may
  award declaratory or injunctive relief, or any type of writ, that
  would pronounce any provision or application of this subchapter
  invalid or unconstitutional, or that would restrain the state, its
  political subdivisions, any officer, employee, or agent of this
  state or a political subdivision, or any person from enforcing any
  provision or application of this chapter, or from hearing,
  adjudicating, docketing, or filing a civil action brought under
  Section 110A.056 or Section 110A.057, and no court of this state
  shall have jurisdiction to consider any action, claim, or
  counterclaim that seeks such relief.
         (f)  Nothing in this section or chapter shall be construed to
  prevent a litigant from asserting the invalidity or
  unconstitutionality of any provision or application of this chapter
  as a defense to any action, claim, or counterclaim brought against
  that litigant.
         (g)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  contrary, any judicial relief issued by a court of this state that
  disregards the immunities conferred by Subsection (a), or the
  limitations on jurisdiction and relief imposed by Subsection (e),
  shall be regarded as a legal nullity because it was issued by a
  court without jurisdiction, and may not be enforced or obeyed by any
  officer, employee, or agent of this state or a political
  subdivision, judicial or otherwise.
         (h)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  contrary, any writ, injunction, or declaratory judgment issued by a
  court of this state that purports to restrain the state, its
  political subdivisions, any officer, employee, or agent of this
  state or a political subdivision, or any person from hearing,
  adjudicating, docketing, or filing a civil action brought under
  Section 110A.056 or Section 110A.057 shall be regarded as a legal
  nullity and a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
  Amendment, and may not be enforced or obeyed by any officer,
  employee, or agent of this state or a political subdivision,
  judicial or otherwise.
         (i)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  contrary, any officer, employee, or agent of this state or a
  political subdivision, judicial or otherwise, who issues,
  enforces, or obeys a writ, injunction, or declaratory judgment
  described in Subsection (h) shall be subject to suit by any person
  who is prevented from or delayed in bringing a civil action under
  Section 110A.056 or Section 110A.057, and a claimant who prevails
  in an action brought under this section shall recover:
               (1)  injunctive relief;
               (2)  compensatory damages;
               (3)  punitive damages of not less than $100,000; and
               (4)  costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
         (j)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  contrary, any person who violates Subsections (e) or (h):
               (1)  may not assert and shall not be entitled to any
  type of immunity defense, including sovereign immunity,
  governmental immunity, official immunity, or judicial immunity;
               (2)  may not and shall not be indemnified for any award
  of damages or costs and attorneys' fees entered against them, or for
  the costs of their legal defense; and
               (3)  may not and shall not receive or obtain legal
  representation from the attorney general of this state in any
  action brought under Subsection (i).
         (k)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  contrary, any person who sues and seeks any writ, injunction, or
  declaratory judgment that would restrain any person from hearing,
  adjudicating, docketing, or filing a civil action brought under
  Section 110A.056 or Section 110A.057, shall pay the costs and
  attorneys' fees of the person sued. A person may bring a civil
  action to recover these costs and attorneys' fees in state or
  federal court. It shall not be defense to a civil action brought
  under this Subsection that:
               (1)  the plaintiff failed to seek recovery of costs or
  attorney's fees in the underlying action;
               (2)  the court in the underlying action declined to
  recognize or enforce the requirements of this Section; or
               (3)  the court in the underlying action held that any
  provisions of this Section are invalid, unconstitutional, or
  preempted by federal law, notwithstanding the doctrines of issue or
  claim preclusion.
         Sec. 110A.60.  SEVERABILITY. (a) Mindful of Leavitt v. Jane
  L., 518 U.S. 137 (1996), in which in the context of determining the , 518 U.S. 137 (1996), in which in the context of determining the
  severability of a state statute regulating abortion the Supreme
  Court of the United States held that an explicit statement of
  legislative intent is controlling, it is the intent of the
  legislature that every provision, section, subsection, sentence,
  clause, phrase, or word in this chapter, and every application of
  the provisions in this chapter to every person, group of persons, or
  circumstances, are severable from each other.
         (b)  If any application of any provision in this chapter to
  any person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a court
  to be invalid, preempted, or unconstitutional, for any reason
  whatsoever, then the remaining applications of that provision to
  all other persons and circumstances shall be severed and preserved,
  and shall remain in effect. All constitutionally valid applications
  of the provisions in this chapter shall be severed from any
  applications that a court finds to be invalid, preempted, or
  unconstitutional, because it is the legislature's intent and
  priority that every single valid application of every statutory
  provision be allowed to stand alone.
         (c)  The legislature further declares that it would have
  enacted this chapter, and each provision, section, subsection,
  sentence, clause, phrase, or word, and all constitutional
  applications of the provisions of this chapter, irrespective of the
  fact that any provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause,
  phrase, or word, or applications of this chapter were to be declared
  invalid, preempted, or unconstitutional.
         (d)  If any provision of this chapter is found by any court to
  be unconstitutionally vague, then the applications of that
  provision that do not present constitutional vagueness problems
  shall be severed and remain in force, consistent with the
  severability requirements of Subsections (a), (b), and (c).
         (e)  No court may decline to enforce the severability
  requirements of Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) on the ground
  that severance would "rewrite" the statute or involve the court in
  legislative or lawmaking activity. A court that declines to
  enforce or enjoins a state official from enforcing a statutory
  provision is never rewriting a statute or engaging in legislative
  or lawmaking activity, as the statute continues to contain the same
  words as before the court's decision. A judicial injunction or
  declaration of unconstitutionality:
               (1)  is nothing more than an edict prohibiting
  enforcement of the disputed statute against the named parties to
  that lawsuit, which may subsequently be vacated by a later court if
  that court has a different understanding of the requirements of the
  Texas Constitution or United States Constitution;
               (2)  is not a formal amendment of the language in a
  statute; and
               (3)  no more rewrites a statute than a decision by the
  executive not to enforce a duly enacted statute in a limited and
  defined set of circumstances.
         (f)  If any state or federal court disregards any of the
  severability requirements in Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), or
  (e), and declares or finds any provision of this chapter facially
  invalid, preempted, or unconstitutional, when there are discrete
  applications of that provision that can be enforced against a
  person, group of persons, or circumstances without violating
  federal law or the federal or state constitutions, then that
  provision shall be interpreted, as a matter of state law, as if the
  legislature had enacted a provision limited to the persons, group
  of persons, or circumstances for which the provision's application
  will not violate federal law or the federal or state constitutions,
  and every court shall adopt this saving construction of that
  provision until the court ruling that pronounced the provision
  facially invalid, preempted, or unconstitutional is vacated or
  overruled.
         SECTION 3.  If any provision of this Act or its application
  to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
  not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be
  given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
  this end the provisions of this Act are declared to be severable.
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 110A, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
  as added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues
  on or after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.