88R30572 JRR-F
 
  By: Birdwell, et al. S.B. No. 2424
 
  (Hefner)
 
  Substitute the following for S.B. No. 2424:  No.
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to illegal entry into this state from Mexico by a person
  who is not a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United
  States; creating criminal offenses.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Title 10, Penal Code, is amended by adding
  Chapter 51 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 51. ILLEGAL ENTRY FROM MEXICO
         Sec. 51.01.  DEFINITION. In this chapter, "port of entry"
  means a port of entry as designated by 19 C.F.R. Part 101.
         Sec. 51.02.  ILLEGAL ENTRY FROM MEXICO. (a) A person who is
  not a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States
  commits an offense if the person enters or attempts to enter this
  state by crossing its border with Mexico at any place other than a
  port of entry.
         (b)  An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor,
  except that the offense is a state jail felony if it is shown on the
  trial of the offense that the actor has previously been finally
  convicted of an offense under this section.
         (c)  A peace officer may, in lieu of arrest, remove a person
  detained for an offense under this section by collecting any
  identifying information the person may have, transporting the
  person to a port of entry, and ordering the person to return to
  Mexico.
         (d)  A law enforcement officer of the Department of Public
  Safety who arrests a person for an offense under this section shall,
  to the extent feasible, detain the person in a facility established
  under Operation Lone Star or a similar border security operation of
  this state.
         (e)  A court may not abate the prosecution of an offense
  under this section on the basis that a federal determination
  regarding the immigration status of the actor is pending.
         Sec. 51.03.  REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH ORDER TO RETURN TO
  MEXICO. (a) A person commits an offense if, following the
  commission of an offense under Section 51.02(a), the person refuses
  to comply with an order to return to Mexico delivered by a peace
  officer under Section 51.02(c).
         (b)  An offense under this section is a felony of the second
  degree.
         SECTION 2.  Section 102.002, Civil Practice and Remedies
  Code, is amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
         (b-1)  A local government shall pay actual damages, court
  costs, and attorney's fees awarded against an employee of the local
  government if the damages arise from a cause of action resulting
  from actions taken by the person to enforce Chapter 51, Penal Code,
  during the course and scope of the person's employment for the local
  government.
         SECTION 3.  Section 104.002(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b), the state is
  liable for indemnification under this chapter only if the damages
  are based on an act or omission by the person in the course and scope
  of the person's office, employment, or contractual performance for
  or service on behalf of the agency, institution, or department and
  if:
               (1)  the damages arise out of a cause of action for
  negligence, except a wilful or wrongful act or an act of gross
  negligence; [or]
               (2)  the damages arise out of a cause of action for
  deprivation of a right, privilege, or immunity secured by the
  constitution or laws of this state or the United States, except when
  the court in its judgment or the jury in its verdict finds that the
  person acted in bad faith, with conscious indifference or reckless
  disregard; [or]
               (3)  the damages arise out of a cause of action
  resulting from actions taken by the person to enforce Chapter 51,
  Penal Code; or
               (4)  indemnification is in the interest of the state as
  determined by the attorney general or his designee.
         SECTION 4.  Section 157.903, Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 157.903.  AUTHORITY TO INDEMNIFY ELECTED AND APPOINTED
  COUNTY OFFICERS; INDEMNIFICATION REQUIRED IN CERTAIN CASES. (a) 
  The commissioners court of a county by order may provide for the
  indemnification of an elected or appointed county officer against
  personal liability for the loss of county funds, or loss of or
  damage to personal property, incurred by the officer in the
  performance of official duties if the loss was not the result of the
  officer's negligence or criminal action.
         (b)  If a county adopts an indemnification order under
  Subsection (a), the order must indemnify an elected or appointed
  county officer for damages resulting from actions taken by the
  officer to enforce Chapter 51, Penal Code, during the performance
  of official duties.
         SECTION 5.  It is the intent of the legislature that every
  provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
  in this Act, and every application of the provisions in this Act to
  every person, group of persons, or circumstances, is severable from
  each other. If any application of any provision in this Act to any
  person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be
  invalid for any reason, the remaining applications of that
  provision to all other persons and circumstances shall be severed
  and may not be affected.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect July 1, 2023, 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 effect on that
  date, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.