Bernal Migrant Housing Bill Leaves H-2A Workers Out Of Relocation

The text as introduced · 1,999 words

89R2197 RAL-F

By: Bernal
H.B. No. 164

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the regulation of migrant labor housing facilities;

changing the amount of a civil penalty.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is

amended by amending Section 2306.933 and adding Sections 2306.934,

2306.935, 2306.936, 2306.937, 2306.938, 2306.939, and 2306.940 to

read as follows:

Sec. 2306.933. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates

this subchapter or a rule adopted under this subchapter is subject

to a civil penalty of not less than $50 for each person occupying

the migrant labor housing facility in violation of this subchapter

[ $200 ] for each day that the violation occurs.

(b) An [ The county attorney for the county in which the

violation occurred, or the attorney general, at the request of the

department, shall bring an ] action [ in the name of the state ] to

collect a civil [ the ] penalty under this section may be brought by:

(1) the department through the contested case hearing

process described by Section 2306.930(b);

(2) the county attorney for the county in which the

violation occurred, or the attorney general, at the request of the

department; or

(3) a migrant agricultural worker if:

(A) a complaint regarding the violation for which

the civil penalty is sought has been submitted under Section

2306.934; and

(B) at the time the complaint described by

Paragraph (A) is submitted, the worker:

(i) lives in the migrant labor housing

facility that is the subject of the complaint; and

(ii) is not temporarily in the United

States under an H-2A visa authorized by 8 U.S.C. Section

1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) .

(c) An action to collect a civil penalty under this section

may not be brought while:

(1) a contested case hearing brought by the department

under Section 2306.930(b) and relating to the same migrant labor

housing facility is pending;

(2) an action for injunctive relief relating to the

same violation is pending under Section 2306.932;

(3) an action brought by a county attorney or the

attorney general and relating to the same migrant labor housing

facility is pending; or

(4) the operator of the migrant labor housing facility

that is the subject of the action is:

(A) waiting for the facility to be inspected

under Section 2306.935(c) to confirm remediation of the violation

that is the subject of the action; or

(B) providing housing at a facility under Section

2306.936(d) to which the migrant agricultural workers who occupied

the facility that is the subject of the action have been relocated.

(d) A civil penalty under this section begins accruing on

the earlier of:

(1) for a violation with a remediation period

described by Section 2306.935, the day that:

(A) the department determines based on

information submitted under Section 2306.935(b) that the operator

has failed to remedy the violation; or

(B) an inspection described by Section

2306.935(c) establishes that the migrant housing facility operator

has failed to remedy the violation; or

(2) for a violation with a remediation period

described by Section 2306.936, the 31st day following the date that

notification of the complaint is received from the department,

unless the operator has relocated under Section 2306.936(d) the

migrant agricultural workers who occupied the facility that is the

subject of the complaint.

(e) The department by rule shall adopt a penalty schedule

that increases the amount of the penalty assessed against a person

who repeatedly violates this subchapter or rules adopted under this

subchapter.

(f) A penalty collected under Subsection (b)(1) or (2) shall

be deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund and may be

appropriated only to the department for the enforcement of this

subchapter.

Sec. 2306.934. COMPLAINT; NOTICE; DISMISSAL. (a) In this

section, "designated representative" means an individual or

organization to whom a migrant agricultural worker has given

written authorization to exercise the worker's right to file a

complaint under this section.

(b) The department by rule shall establish a process for:

(1) the submission to the department of a complaint

regarding a migrant labor housing facility;

(2) determining whether a complaint is unfounded or

does not violate the standards adopted by the department; and

(3) the investigation, resolution, or dismissal of a

complaint submitted under Subdivision (1), including confirmation

of remediation through the methods described by Sections 2306.935

and 2306.936.

(c) The process established under Subsection (b)(1) must

allow the submission of complaints:

(1) only by:

(A) an occupant of the migrant labor housing

facility that is the subject of the complaint;

(B) a prospective occupant of the migrant labor

housing facility that is the subject of the complaint;

(C) the designated representative of a person

described by Paragraph (A) or (B); or

(D) an individual, including the owner or tenant

of an adjacent property, that has observed a clear violation of this

subchapter; and

(2) through the department's Internet website, in

person at any department office, or by telephone or written notice

to the department.

(d) Not later than the fifth day after the date on which the

department receives a complaint, the department shall notify the

operator of the migrant labor housing facility that is the subject

of the complaint. Notice under this subsection must include:

(1) the date that the complaint was received;

(2) the subject matter of the complaint;

(3) the name of each person contacted in relation to

the complaint, if any; and

(4) the timeline for remedying a complaint that is not

otherwise dismissed by the department.

(e) If the department is unable to make contact with an

operator of a migrant labor housing facility for the purpose of

serving a notification of a complaint, the department shall serve

the notification of the complaint via registered or certified mail,

return receipt requested.

(f) If the department determines that a complaint is

unfounded or does not violate the standards adopted by rule, the

department may dismiss the complaint and shall include a statement

of the reason for the dismissal in the record of the complaint. The

department shall provide timely notice of any dismissal of the

complaint, including the explanation for the dismissal, to the

operator of the migrant labor housing facility that is the subject

of the complaint.

(g) A designated representative may not be required to

reveal the name of any migrant agricultural worker on whose behalf

the representative submitted a complaint under this section if the

department reviews the written authorization establishing the

representation and verifies that the representative is authorized

to submit the complaint.

Sec. 2306.935. REMEDIATION OF COMPLAINT IN GENERAL. (a)

Subject to Section 2306.936, not later than the seventh day after

the date that notice is received under Section 2306.934, the

operator of a migrant labor housing facility shall remedy the

complaint.

(b) The department by rule shall establish a procedure by

which the operator of a migrant labor housing facility may submit

proof of remediation of a complaint through visual evidence and a

sworn affidavit.

(c) For an operator of a migrant labor housing facility who

receives notice under Section 2306.934(e) or who does not submit

proof of remediation in the manner provided by Subsection (b), the

department shall have the facility inspected as soon as possible

following the seventh day after the date notice is received under

Section 2306.934 to ensure remediation of the complaint.

Sec. 2306.936. REMEDIATION OF COMPLAINT REGARDING CERTAIN

VIOLATIONS. (a) This section applies only to a complaint that

alleges a violation that the department determines poses an

imminent hazard or threat to the health and safety of the occupants

of the facility, including violations of rules adopted by the

department concerning sanitation.

(b) Subject to Subsection (d), not later than the 30th day

after the date notice is received under Section 2306.934, the

operator of a migrant labor housing facility that is the subject of

a complaint described by Subsection (a) shall remedy the complaint.

(c) The department may refer a complaint described by

Subsection (a) to a local authority for immediate inspection of the

migrant labor housing facility.

(d) The department by rule shall establish a procedure for

requiring the owner of a migrant labor housing facility to relocate

or provide for the relocation to another housing facility of the

occupants of a facility that is the subject of a complaint under

Subsection (a) if the remediation of that complaint is projected to

take longer than a period of 30 days. A housing facility to which a

person is relocated under this subsection:

(1) must meet the occupancy standards adopted under

this subchapter;

(2) must be located in the same vicinity as the vacated

facility; and

(3) may not require a rent payment from a displaced

migrant agricultural worker that exceeds the rent charged for the

vacated facility.

(e) Subsection (d) does not apply to a migrant agricultural

worker who is temporarily in the United States under an H-2A visa

authorized under 8 U.S.C. Section 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a).

Sec. 2306.937. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. A person who owns,

establishes, maintains, operates, or otherwise provides a migrant

labor housing facility, a person who employs a migrant agricultural

worker who occupies a migrant labor housing facility, or a farm

labor contractor may not retaliate against a person for filing a

complaint or providing information in good faith relating to a

possible violation of this subchapter.

Sec. 2306.938. ATTORNEY'S FEES. The court in a suit brought

under this subchapter may award reasonable attorney's fees to the

prevailing party.

Sec. 2306.939. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION. (a) The

department shall identify other state agencies that may interact

with occupants of migrant housing facilities to assist the

department in identifying and locating unlicensed migrant labor

housing facilities.

(b) Information provided to the department under this

section:

(1) may be used only for the purposes of identifying

and locating unlicensed migrant labor housing facilities;

(2) must be free of identification information

relating to individual migrant agricultural workers; and

(3) is confidential and not subject to disclosure

under Chapter 552.

Sec. 2306.940. OUTREACH AND EDUCATION. (a) The department

shall provide:

(1) to migrant agricultural workers in different

regions of the state, educational materials or programs that are

presented in English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate

and that inform the workers of their rights and remedies under this

subchapter; and

(2) to persons who own, establish, maintain, operate,

procure, make arrangements for, or otherwise provide migrant labor

housing facilities, educational materials or programs that are

presented in English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate

and that inform the persons of their obligations under this

subchapter.

(b) To better provide the services described by Subsection

(a), the department shall:

(1) ensure that, in each region of the state where

migrant labor housing facilities are most common, there are persons

capable of providing the information described by Subsection (a) in

English, Spanish, and other languages as appropriate; and

(2) conduct research, including by surveying migrant

agricultural workers, concerning:

(A) what types of migrant labor housing

facilities are most common in different regions of the state; and

(B) what regions of the state most need

additional or improved migrant labor housing facilities.

SECTION 2. Not later than March 1, 2026, the Texas

Department of Housing and Community Affairs shall adopt the rules

necessary to implement Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government

Code, as amended by this Act.

SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act in amending

Section 2306.933, Government Code, and adding Sections 2306.934,

2306.935, 2306.936, 2306.937, and 2306.938, Government Code,

applies only to a violation that occurs on or after the effective

date of this Act. A violation that occurs before the effective date

of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the

violation occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for

that purpose. For purposes of this section, a violation occurs

before the effective date of this Act if any element of the

violation occurs before that date.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.