Relating to the homeland security activities of certain entities, including the establishment and operations of the Homeland Security Division in the Department of Public Safety.

89(R) SB 36 - Enrolled version - Bill Text

S.B. No. 36

AN ACT

relating to the homeland security activities of certain entities,

including the establishment and operations of the Homeland Security

Division in the Department of Public Safety.

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

SECTION 1. Section 411.002(a), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) The Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas is

an agency of the state to enforce the laws protecting the public

safety and provide for the prevention and detection of crime. The

department is composed of the Texas Rangers,
the Homeland Security

Division,
the Texas Highway Patrol, the administrative division,

and other divisions that the commission considers necessary.

SECTION 2. Chapter 411, Government Code, is amended by

adding Subchapter S to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER S.

HOMELAND SECURITY DIVISION

Sec. 411.551. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1)

"Chief" means the chief of the division appointed

under Section 411.552.

(2)

"Division" means the Homeland Security Division of

the department established under this subchapter.

(3)

"Local government" means any municipality,

county, special-purpose district or authority, or other political

subdivision of this state.

(4)

"State agency" means a board, commission, council,

committee, department, office, agency, or other governmental

entity in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of state

government. The term includes an institution of higher education

as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code.

Sec.

411.552.

HOMELAND SECURITY DIVISION; CHIEF.

(a)

The

Homeland Security Division is established in the department to lead

multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional, and public-private efforts to

enhance law enforcement initiatives and operations in support of

homeland security objectives in this state.

(b)

The director shall appoint the chief with the consent of

the commission.

(c)

The chief acts as the chief administrative officer of

the division and is under the supervision and direction of the

director, and to the extent the director determines, a deputy

director of the department.

Sec.

411.553.

DEPUTY CHIEFS AND OTHER EMPLOYEES;

DELEGATION.

(a)

The chief may employ deputy chiefs and other

employees as necessary to perform the duties or exercise the powers

of the division or perform any duty or exercise any power of the

department assigned to the division.

(b)

The chief may delegate any power or duty assigned to the

division or chief unless prohibited by statute or rule.

Sec.

411.554.

BORDER SECURITY: PLANNING AND COORDINATION.

(a)

The division shall, in collaboration with any other person who

by law performs similar duties:

(1)

provide the strategic and operational planning for

border security operations of this state; and

(2)

support the border security operations of this

state by coordinating the law enforcement efforts of federal and

state agencies, local governments, and private organizations and by

ensuring clarity and alignment on the law enforcement priorities

and responsibilities of each stakeholder.

(b)

The division shall assist as necessary the department,

including each department region, with the department's tactical

planning of border security operations.

The division shall produce

intelligence and similar reports as necessary to provide the

assistance required by this subsection.

Sec.

411.555.

BORDER SECURITY: INTELLIGENCE.

(a)

The

division shall coordinate the collection, dissemination, and

analysis of intelligence for this state's border security

operations and shall operate intelligence centers dedicated to this

purpose.

(b)

The division shall establish policies and procedures

relating to the collection and management of intelligence,

including establishing collection priorities and assigning the

management responsibilities, for state agencies, local

governments, and any private organizations participating in border

security operations.

(c)

With respect to the border security operations of this

state, the division shall analyze and assess collected intelligence

to produce information bulletins and other similar reports

considered advisable.

(d)

The division shall manage the program for the

installation and monitoring of cameras and surveillance equipment

along the Texas-Mexico border, known as Operation Drawbridge.

Sec.

411.556.

HOMELAND SECURITY PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS.

(a)

The division shall, in collaboration with any other person who

by law performs similar duties:

(1)

regularly develop a comprehensive homeland

security strategic plan for this state;

(2)

plan and facilitate homeland security exercises in

coordination with the Texas Division of Emergency Management and

other state agencies, federal agencies, local governments, and any

participating private organizations;

(3)

develop operational and tactical plans for

significant law enforcement emergencies or contingencies,

including assisting each department region with developing plans

specific to the needs of that region;

(4) conduct assessments of:

(A)

the risks and hazards posed to this state by

criminal actors and organizations; and

(B)

the capabilities of state and local

stakeholders to respond to the occurrence of those risks and

hazards, including by coordinating the annual completion by state

agencies and local governments of the following federal

assessments:

(i)

the Threat and Hazard Identification

and Risk Assessment; and

(ii) the Stakeholder Preparedness Review;

(5)

establish programs for regular outreach to and

information sharing among public and private organizations

regarding threats by criminal actors and organizations, including:

(A)

coordinating the Bomb-Making Materials

Awareness Program and similar programs; and

(B)

ensuring private industry organizations are

aware of:

(i)

criminal threats to critical

infrastructure, such as espionage and sabotage operations;

(ii)

best practices for protecting critical

infrastructure from criminal actors and organizations; and

(iii)

available law enforcement resources

to assist in protecting critical infrastructure from criminal

actors and organizations and responding to those threats; and

(6)

assist state agencies and local governments in

complying with restrictions under federal law on commerce with

certain entities, including any entity:

(A)

listed in Supplement No.

4 to 15 C.F.R. Part

744;

(B)

identified as a Chinese military company by

the United States Secretary of Defense in accordance with Section

1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year

2021 (Pub. L. 116-283); or

(C)

restricted under any similar sanction

program under federal law.

(b)

The division shall develop any additional assessment

for risks and hazards posed by criminal actors and organizations

the division considers necessary and include in the strategic plan

required by Subsection (a)(1) recommendations to mitigate those

risks and hazards.

(c)

The division may administer, or assist the department in

administering, an internship program for students and other

interested persons to participate in the operations of the

division, or the department, as appropriate.

Sec.

411.557.

PLANNING FOR PHYSICAL PROTECTION OF CRITICAL

INFRASTRUCTURE. (a) The division shall coordinate multi-agency,

multi-jurisdictional, and public-private efforts to protect the

critical infrastructure in this state from criminal actors and

organizations. Within the 16 critical infrastructure sectors

identified by National Security Memorandum on Critical

Infrastructure Security and Resilience (NSM-22) issued by the

president of the United States, the division shall prioritize the

division's efforts in ensuring the physical protection of critical

infrastructure in the following sectors:

(1) energy;

(2) communications;

(3) transportation systems; and

(4) water and wastewater systems.

(b)

With respect to potential threats to the critical

infrastructure in this state, the division may analyze and assess

collected intelligence to produce information bulletins and other

similar reports considered advisable.

(c)

The division shall develop a system to identify and

categorize critical infrastructure in this state for the purpose of

facilitating initiatives to protect the critical infrastructure

from criminal actors and organizations, including for facilitating

any risk assessment of critical infrastructure assets or systems in

this state and identifying any dependency or interdependency among

those assets or systems.

(d)

The division shall conduct exercises to enhance

public-private coordination in protecting the critical

infrastructure of this state from criminal actors and

organizations.

(e)

During any disaster, as that term is defined by Section

418.004, the division shall provide support to the state operations

center described by Section 418.041(e).

Sec.

411.558.

INFRASTRUCTURE LIAISON OFFICER PROGRAM. (a)

The division shall operate a program to train volunteers from

public and private organizations to:

(1)

collect or receive intelligence information

related to threats to critical infrastructure; and

(2)

properly identify threats to critical

infrastructure and report those threats to the department.

(b)

The division may set reasonable eligibility

requirements for the program.

Sec.

411.559.

WORK GROUPS; STUDY OF TECHNOLOGIES.

(a)

The

division may establish and appoint members to one or more work

groups to:

(1)

study any issue related to the division's duties or

the law enforcement initiatives or operations of this state; and

(2)

advise or produce written reports on an issue

studied under Subdivision (1).

(b)

A work group established under this section may be

composed of representatives from state and federal agencies, local

governments, and private organizations.

The division may provide

administrative support for any work group established under this

section.

(c)

The division shall, in collaboration with any person who

by law performs similar duties, establish or operate work groups to

study methods or technologies to enhance the border security

operations of this state and the security of the critical

infrastructure of this state, including any task force established

to survey the vulnerabilities of state government, local

governments, and critical infrastructure.

Sec.

411.560.

RESEARCH. (a)

The division shall annually

propose to the commission the research priorities and a research

agenda for the department.

(b)

The division shall coordinate with institutions of

higher education, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, to

enhance the research capabilities of the institutions and the

department by sharing information and aligning priorities.

(c)

The division shall research new technologies to enhance

the law enforcement initiatives and operations conducted by this

state, including any border security operation conducted by a state

agency, local government, or private organization.

Sec.

411.561.

COUNSEL AND BUDGETING. (a)

In this section,

"homeland security activity"

means any activity related to the

prevention or discovery of, response to, or recovery from:

(1) a terrorist attack;

(2) a hostile military or paramilitary action; or

(3) an extraordinary law enforcement emergency.

(b)

The division shall, on request, provide subject matter

expertise and counsel to a state agency or local government

regarding the state's border security operations and critical

infrastructure protection initiatives, including related grant

programs, legislation, risk management assessments, and other

initiatives.

(c)

The division shall confer with each state agency

involved in any homeland security activity before each legislative

session regarding the portion of the state agency's budget request

that finances the agency's homeland security activities.

The

division shall coordinate with the state agencies to eliminate

unnecessary redundancies and increase the efficiency of state

agency efforts in conducting homeland security activities.

Sec.

411.562.

WEBSITE AND REPORTS. The division shall

maintain a publicly accessible Internet website and publish

assessments and other reports produced by the division that are not

excepted from disclosure under Section 552.021 and not

confidential.

Sec.

411.563.

SENSITIVE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY PRIVATE

ORGANIZATIONS. (a)

If in performing any duty or exercising any

authority under this subchapter the division or a work group or task

force of the division is provided information by a private

organization that the private organization considers highly

sensitive, proprietary, or otherwise confidential and the private

organization notifies in writing the division, work group, or task

force of that fact:

(1)

the information is not public information for

purposes of Chapter 552, and is excepted from the requirements of

Section 552.021; and

(2)

the division or applicable work group or task

force:

(A)

shall secure the information in the same

manner as the private organization secures the information; and

(B)

may not further disclose the information

without the consent of the private organization.

(b)

If the division or a work group or task force of the

division is required to disclose information described by

Subsection (a) to comply with applicable state or federal law or a

court order, the division or applicable work group or task force

shall to the extent practicable:

(1)

not later than the fifth business day before the

date the information is disclosed, notify the private organization

that provided the information of the required disclosure; and

(2)

disclose the information in the same condition as

the division or applicable work group or task force received the

information, including providing any labels or other markings that

were originally provided with the information.

SECTION 3. Section 421.024, Government Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 421.024. DUTIES. The council shall
, in collaboration

with the Homeland Security Division of the Department of Public

Safety,
advise the governor on:

(1) the implementation of the governor's homeland

security strategy by state and local agencies and provide specific

suggestions for helping those agencies implement the strategy; and

(2) other matters related to the planning,

development, coordination, and implementation of initiatives to

promote the governor's homeland security strategy.

SECTION 4. Section 421.045, Government Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 421.045. DUTIES. Each permanent special advisory

committee created under this subchapter shall
, in collaboration

with the Homeland Security Division of the Department of Public

Safety,
advise the governor on:

(1) the implementation of the governor's homeland

security strategy by state and local agencies and provide specific

suggestions for helping those agencies implement the strategy;

(2) specific priorities related to the governor's

homeland security strategy that the committee determines to be of

significant importance to the statewide security of critical

infrastructure; and

(3) other matters related to the planning,

development, coordination, and implementation of initiatives to

promote the governor's homeland security strategy.

SECTION 5. (a) In this section:

(1) "Department" means the Department of Public

Safety.

(2) "Transferring agency" means a state agency that is

required to transfer the management and operations of a center to

the department under Subsection (b)(2) of this section.

(b) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this

Act, the department shall:

(1) transfer the management and operations of the

Border Security Operations Center and the Joint Operations and

Intelligence Centers to the Texas Homeland Security Division in the

department; and

(2) enter into a written agreement with any other

state agency that, before the effective date of this Act, is

involved in the management or operations of the centers described

by Subdivision (1) of this subsection for the transfer of the

management and operations of those centers to the division,

including any land, facilities, equipment, and other property

involved in the operations of the centers.

(c) The written agreement required by Subsection (b)(2) of

this section must specify an effective date for the transfer.

(d) Any rules, policies, procedures, decisions, and forms

of a transferring agency that relate to the management or

operations of a center in effect on the effective date of the

transfer remain in effect until changed by the department.

(e) All money, contracts, leases, property, software source

code and documentation, records, and obligations of a transferring

agency that relate to the management or operations of a center are

transferred to the department on the effective date of the

transfer.

(f) The unexpended and unobligated balance of any money

appropriated by the legislature relating to a center transferred

under this Act is transferred to the department on the effective

date of the transfer of the center.

(g) A transferring agency shall provide the department with

access to any systems, facilities, or information necessary for the

department to accept the management and operations of a center

transferred under this Act.

(h) On the effective date of the transfer, all full-time

equivalent employee positions at the transferring agency that

concern the management or operations of a center being transferred

become positions at the department. The department shall post the

positions for hiring and, when filling the positions, shall give

consideration to, but is not required to hire, an applicant who,

immediately before the date of the transfer, was an employee at a

transferring agency.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

______________________________

______________________________

President of the Senate

Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 36 passed the Senate on

April 10, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 3; and that

the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 28, 2025, by the

following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 3.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 36 passed the House, with

amendments, on May 24, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 83,

Nays 36, three present not voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

______________________________

Governor