Relating to a border crime property damage compensation program.

89(R) HB 246 - House Committee Report version - Bill Text

89R15350 JRR-F

By: Guillen, Morales of Maverick, Raymond,

H.B. No. 246

et al.

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 246:

By: King

C.S.H.B. No. 246

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a border crime property damage compensation program.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 56C, Code of Criminal

Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

CHAPTER 56C.
BORDER CRIME
[
LANDOWNER COMPENSATION FOR
] PROPERTY

DAMAGE
COMPENSATION PROGRAM
[
CAUSED BY CERTAIN CRIMINAL

ACTIVITIES
]

SECTION 2. 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 3. Article 56C.003, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended to read as follows:

Art. 56C.003.
BORDER CRIME PROPERTY DAMAGE
[
LANDOWNER
]

COMPENSATION PROGRAM. (a) From
the funding sources described by

Subsection (a-1)
[
money appropriated for the purpose
], the attorney

general shall establish and administer a program to compensate

landowners
and lessees
who suffer [
real property
] damage
to

agricultural land, including buildings or other improvements, or to

livestock, timber, or crops
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.

(a-1)

The attorney general may use money from the following

sources to establish the program described by Subsection (a):

(1)

money appropriated, credited, or transferred by

the legislature for purposes of the program;

(2)

revenue that the legislature by statute dedicates

for deposit to the credit of the program; and

(3)

gifts, grants, and donations received by the state

for purposes of the program, including grants and reimbursements

received from the federal government.

(b) The attorney general shall establish:

(1)
a standardized form and report template to be used

by law enforcement agencies for the purpose of documenting damage

caused by a trespasser in accordance with Subsection (c);

(2)
eligibility criteria for compensation under this

article, including requirements for providing proof of eligibility

for compensation;

(3)
[
(2)
] application procedures;

(4)
[
(3)
] criteria for evaluating applications and

awarding compensation;

(5)
[
(4)
] guidelines related to compensation amounts,

provided that the maximum amount awarded per incident causing

damage may not exceed
a total of
$75,000
and any portion of damages

attributable to livestock, timber, or crops may not exceed $10,000
;

and

(6)
[
(5)
] procedures for monitoring the use of

compensation awarded under this article and ensuring compliance

with any conditions of the award.

(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

up the debris, pollutants, or contaminants to restore the soil to

its agricultural use.

(c) The attorney general may not award compensation under

this article for [
real property
] damage caused by a trespasser

described by Subsection (a)(1) unless the damage is documented in a

written report by a law enforcement agency as having occurred in

connection with a border crime.

(c-1)

For purposes of allowing the attorney general to

determine whether a person qualifies for an award of compensation

under this article and the extent of the damage, a law enforcement

agency that makes a written report described by Subsection (c)

shall release the report to the attorney general not later than the

14th day after the date the attorney general makes a request to the

agency for the report.

(d) In awarding compensation under this article for [
real

property
] damage caused by a trespasser described by Subsection

(a)(1), the attorney general may not consider the outcome of any

criminal prosecution arising out of
:

(1)
the offense under Chapter 28, Penal Code, as a

result of which the applicant suffered [
property
] damage
;
or

(2)
the applicable offense listed in Article

56C.001(2)(A).

SECTION 4. Article 56C.006(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,

is amended to read as follows:

(a) The program established under Article 56C.003 is a payer

of last resort for [
real property
] damage described by that

article.

SECTION 5. Sections 552.132(a), (b), (c), and (d),

Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), in this section,

"crime victim or claimant" means
:

(1)
a victim or claimant under Chapter 56B, Code of

Criminal Procedure, who has filed an application for compensation

under that chapter
; or

(2)

a person who has filed an application for

compensation under Chapter 56C, Code of Criminal Procedure
.

(b) The following information held by [
the crime victim's

compensation division of
] the attorney general's office
in

connection with an application for compensation under Chapter 56B

or 56C, Code of Criminal Procedure,
is confidential:

(1) the name, social security number, address, or

telephone number of a crime victim or claimant; or

(2) any other information the disclosure of which

would identify or tend to identify the crime victim or claimant.

(c) If the crime victim or claimant is awarded compensation

under Article 56B.103
,
[
or
] 56B.104
, or 56C.003
, Code of Criminal

Procedure, as of the date of the award of compensation, the name of

the crime victim or claimant and the amount of compensation awarded

to that crime victim or claimant are public information and are not

excepted from the requirements of Section 552.021.

(d) An employee of a governmental body who is also a victim

under Chapter 56B, Code of Criminal Procedure,
or has suffered

property damage for which the employee is eligible for compensation

under Chapter 56C of that code,
regardless of whether the employee

has filed an application for compensation under
the applicable

[
that
] chapter, may elect whether to allow public access to

information held by the attorney general's office or other

governmental body that would identify or tend to identify the

employee
[
victim
], including a photograph or other visual

representation of the
employee
[
victim
]. An election under this

subsection must be made in writing on a form developed by the

governmental body, be signed by the employee, and be filed with the

governmental body before the third anniversary of the latest to

occur of one of the following:

(1) the date the crime was committed
or the property

damage occurred, as applicable
;

(2) the date employment begins; or

(3) the date the governmental body develops the form

and provides it to employees.

SECTION 6. 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 7. Article 56C.007, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

repealed.

SECTION 8. Chapter 56C, Code of Criminal Procedure, as

amended by this Act, applies only to compensation for damages

incurred in connection with conduct constituting an offense

occurring on or after the effective date of this Act. Compensation

for damages incurred in connection with conduct constituting an

offense occurring before the effective date of this Act is governed

by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and the

former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of

this section, conduct constituting an offense occurred before the

effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred

before that date.

SECTION 9. 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 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.