Parker Bill’s New DPS Division Trains Volunteers To Report Threats

The text as introduced · 2,486 words

By: Parker
S.B. No. 780

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

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) "Homeland security activity" has the meaning

assigned by Section 421.001.

(4) "Local government" includes any municipality,

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

subdivision of this state.

(5) "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 the security and resiliency of this state.

(b) The director shall appoint the chief with the consent of

the commission and may assign to the division and the chief

department duties that relate to a homeland security activity.

(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 efforts of federal and state agencies,

local governments, and private organizations and by ensuring

clarity and alignment on the 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 state and federal agencies, local governments,

and any participating private organizations, including exercises

to enhance the capabilities of the state operations center

described by Section 418.041(e);

(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 risks and hazards to this

state and the capabilities of state and local stakeholders to

respond to the occurrence of those risks and hazards, including

coordinating the annual completion by state agencies and local

governments of the following federal assessments:

(A) the Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk

Assessment; and

(B) the Stakeholder Preparedness Review;

(5) establish programs for regular outreach to and

information sharing among public and private organizations

regarding homeland security preparedness, including:

(A) coordinating the Bomb-Making Materials

Awareness Program and similar programs; and

(B) ensuring private industry organizations are

aware of:

(i) threats to critical infrastructure,

such as espionage and sabotage operations;

(ii) best practices for protecting critical

infrastructure; and

(iii) available resources to assist in

protecting critical infrastructure 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, including for events such as mass migrations and

acute demands on critical infrastructure, 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. CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING. (a) The

division shall coordinate multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional, and

public-private efforts to protect the critical infrastructure in

this state. Within the 16 critical infrastructure sectors

identified by the United States National Security Memorandum 22

(NSM-22), the division shall prioritize the division's efforts in

ensuring the 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,

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.

(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 homeland security activities 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:

(1) the border security operations of this state; and

(2) the resiliency of the critical infrastructure,

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 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 homeland security activities 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) 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 or

resilience initiatives, including related grant programs,

legislation, risk management assessments, and other initiatives.

(b) 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

redundancies and increase the efficiency of state agency efforts in

conducting homeland security activities.

(c) The division may, in collaboration with the Legislative

Budget Board, adopt rules regarding the sharing of information

among state agencies that submit budget requests that include a

homeland security activity conducted by the requesting state

agency.

Sec. 411.562. GRANT AND REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAMS. (a)

Notwithstanding any other law establishing a grant or reimbursement

program administered by a state agency or local government related

to a homeland security activity, border security operation, or a

critical infrastructure protection initiative, the division shall,

in collaboration with the governor, set priorities and guidelines

for the program, including priorities for intended outcomes and

guidelines for assessing the effectiveness of the program.

(b) In setting the priorities and guidelines under

Subsection (a), the governor and division shall account for any

federal grant money secured and any accompanying restrictions or

requirements imposed by the federal agency awarding the grant.

Sec. 411.563. 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.

SECTION 3. Section 421.002(a), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) The governor shall direct homeland security in this

state and shall develop a statewide homeland security strategy that

improves the state's ability to:

(1) protect against homeland security threats and

hazards;

(2) respond to homeland security emergencies;

(3) recover from homeland security emergencies;

(4) mitigate the loss of life and property by lessening

the impact of future disasters; and

(5) prevent significant criminal and terrorist

attacks.

SECTION 4. 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 5. 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 6. (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 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.