Relating to municipal and county enforcement of drug and consumable hemp product laws; providing civil penalties.

89(R) SB 1870 - House Committee Report version - Bill Text

By: Perry

S.B. No. 1870

(Leach, et al.)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to municipal and county enforcement of drug and consumable

hemp product laws; providing civil penalties.

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

SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 11, Local Government Code, is

amended by adding Chapter 366, and a heading is added to that

chapter to read as follows:

CHAPTER 366. ENFORCEMENT OF DRUG AND CONSUMABLE HEMP PRODUCT LAWS

SECTION 2. Chapter 366, Local Government Code, as added by

this Act, is amended by adding Section 366.001 to read as follows:

Sec.

366.001.

DEFINITION. In this chapter, "local entity"

means:

(1) the governing body of a municipality;

(2) a commissioners court of a county;

(3)

a sheriff, constable, or municipal police

department; and

(4)

a district attorney, county attorney, criminal

district attorney, or municipal attorney.

SECTION 3. Section 370.003, Local Government Code, is

transferred to Chapter 366, Local Government Code, as added by this

Act, redesignated as Section 366.002, Local Government Code, and

amended to read as follows:

Sec.
366.002
[
370.003
].
LOCAL ENTITY
[
MUNICIPAL OR COUNTY

POLICY REGARDING
] ENFORCEMENT OF DRUG
AND CONSUMABLE HEMP PRODUCT

LAWS.
(a) A local entity
[
The governing body of a municipality, the

commissioners court of a county, or a sheriff, municipal police

department, municipal attorney, county attorney, district

attorney, or criminal district attorney
] may not adopt
or enforce

an ordinance, order, rule,
[
a
] policy
, or other measure
under which

the
local
entity will not fully enforce
state
laws relating to drugs

or consumable hemp products
, including Chapters
443,
481
,
and 483,

Health and Safety Code[
, and federal law
].

(b)

Notwithstanding any other law, a local entity may not

place an item on a ballot, including a municipal charter or charter

amendment, that would provide that the local entity will not fully

enforce a law described by Subsection (a).

SECTION 4. Chapter 366, Local Government Code, as added by

this Act, is amended by adding Sections 366.003, 366.004, and

366.005 to read as follows:

Sec.

366.003.

COMPLAINT REGARDING DRUG OR CONSUMABLE HEMP

PRODUCT LAW ENFORCEMENT. (a)

A citizen residing in this state may

file a complaint with the attorney general in the form and manner

prescribed by the attorney general if the citizen asserts facts

that support an allegation that a local entity has violated Section

366.002.

The citizen must submit with the complaint a sworn

statement that to the best of the citizen's knowledge all of the

facts asserted in the complaint are true and correct.

(b) The attorney general shall:

(1)

develop a form that a citizen residing in this

state may use to submit a complaint described by Subsection (a); and

(2)

publish the complaint form on the attorney

general's Internet website.

Sec.

366.004.

ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION FOR EQUITABLE RELIEF.

(a) If, in response to a valid complaint under Section 366.003 or

in the attorney general's own discretion, the attorney general

determines that a violation of Section 366.002 has occurred, the

attorney general may file a petition for a writ of mandamus or apply

for other appropriate equitable relief in a district court in

Travis County, in a county that is represented or served wholly or

partly by the local entity alleged to have violated Section

366.002, or in a county that is adjacent to a county that is

represented by or is served wholly or partly by the local entity

alleged to have violated Section 366.002 to compel the local entity

to comply with Section 366.002.

(b)

An action that is brought by the attorney general under

this section in a venue authorized by Subsection (a) may not be

transferred to a different venue without the written consent of the

attorney general.

(c)

An appeal of an action brought under this section is

governed by the procedures in the Texas Rules of Appellate

Procedure for pursuing an accelerated appeal.

The appellate court

shall render its final order or judgment with the least possible

delay.

Sec.

366.005.

CIVIL PENALTIES. (a)

A local entity that is

found by a court to have knowingly violated Section 366.002(a) is

liable to the state for a civil penalty in an amount not less than:

(1) $25,000 for the first violation; and

(2) $50,000 for each subsequent violation.

(b)

A local entity that is found by a court to have knowingly

violated Section 366.002(b) is liable to the state for a civil

penalty in an amount not less than:

(1) $25,000 for the first violation; and

(2) $50,000 for each subsequent violation.

(c)

Each day of a continuing violation described by

Subsection (a) or (b) is a separate violation.

A violation is

considered to continue until the local entity proves by clear and

convincing evidence that the violation has been remedied.

(d)

A local entity may incur a penalty under both

Subsections (a) and (b).

(e)

A local entity's governmental immunity to suit and from

liability is waived to the extent of liability created by this

section.

A local entity may not assert official immunity as a

defense to an action brought under this section.

(f)

The attorney general may seek a civil penalty under this

section regardless of whether a citizen submitted a complaint under

Section 366.003.

SECTION 5. Chapter 366, Local Government 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 6. This Act takes effect immediately 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 immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.