| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
| |
|
|
relating to the landowner compensation program. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Article 56C.001(2), Code of Criminal Procedure, |
|
|
is amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(2) "Border crime" means conduct: |
|
|
(A) constituting an offense under: |
|
|
(i) Subchapter D, Chapter 481, Health and |
|
|
Safety Code; |
|
|
(ii) Section 20.05, 20.06, or 38.04, Penal |
|
|
Code; or |
|
|
(iii) Chapter 20A, Penal Code; and |
|
|
(B) involving transnational criminal activity. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Article 56C.003, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
|
|
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (b-1), |
|
|
(c-1), and (e) to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) From money appropriated for the purpose, the attorney |
|
|
general shall establish and administer a program to compensate |
|
|
landowners and lessees who suffer real property damage on |
|
|
agricultural land caused by: |
|
|
(1) a trespasser as a result of an offense under |
|
|
Chapter 28, Penal Code, that was committed in the course of or in |
|
|
furtherance of a border crime; or |
|
|
(2) a law enforcement response to a trespasser who was |
|
|
engaged in a border crime. |
|
|
(b-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), damage caused to |
|
|
agricultural land includes any debris, pollutants, or contaminants |
|
|
left on the land during the applicable incident, and compensation |
|
|
awarded under this article may include an amount necessary to clean |
|
|
debris, pollutants, or contaminants. |
|
|
(c-1) The attorney general may not award compensation under |
|
|
this article to a lessee for real property damage caused by a |
|
|
trespasser described by Subsection (a)(1) unless the lessee |
|
|
provides a notarized statement from the landowner authorizing the |
|
|
lessee to directly receive compensation awarded under this article |
|
|
for the damage. |
|
|
(e) On request by the attorney general and not later than |
|
|
the 14th business day after the date of the request, a law |
|
|
enforcement agency shall release to the attorney general all |
|
|
reports, including witness statements and criminal history record |
|
|
information, to allow the attorney general to determine whether a |
|
|
person qualifies for an award of compensation under this article |
|
|
and the extent of the damage. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 2251.052, Insurance Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: |
|
|
(a-1) In setting rates, an insurer may not consider whether |
|
|
a claim has been made by or on behalf of a policyholder in relation |
|
|
to an event documented by a report described by Article 56C.003(c), |
|
|
Code of Criminal Procedure. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Section 2251.052(a-1), Insurance Code, as added |
|
|
by this Act, applies only to an insurance policy that is delivered, |
|
|
issued for delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026. A |
|
|
policy delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed before January 1, |
|
|
2026, is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the |
|
|
effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for |
|
|
that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * |