| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the Texas Liberty Preservation Act; providing |
|
|
penalties. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. (a) This Act shall be known as the "Texas Liberty |
|
|
Preservation Act." |
|
|
(b) The legislature finds that: |
|
|
(1) the Tenth Amendment to the United States |
|
|
Constitution authorizes the United States federal government to |
|
|
exercise only those powers specifically delegated to it under |
|
|
Article I, Section 8, United States Constitution; |
|
|
(2) the guaranty of the constitutional limitations on |
|
|
federal power is a matter of contract between the several states, |
|
|
including the State of Texas, and the federal government at the time |
|
|
the United States Constitution was ratified and subsequently |
|
|
amended by the Bill of Rights; |
|
|
(3) Article VI, United States Constitution, provides |
|
|
that the laws of the United States federal government are the |
|
|
supreme law of the land only if those laws are adopted in accordance |
|
|
with the powers delegated to the federal government in the United |
|
|
States Constitution; |
|
|
(4) the President of the United States has asserted |
|
|
that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (Pub. L. No. |
|
|
107-40), enacted in 2001, authorizes the president to indefinitely |
|
|
detain, without charge, any person, including a citizen of the |
|
|
United States or a lawful resident alien, regardless of whether the |
|
|
person is apprehended inside or outside the borders of the United |
|
|
States; |
|
|
(5) Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense |
|
|
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L. No. 112-81) |
|
|
authorize: |
|
|
(A) indefinite detention of persons apprehended |
|
|
within the United States without charge or trial; |
|
|
(B) prosecution by military tribunals under the |
|
|
law of war for persons apprehended within the United States; and |
|
|
(C) transfer of persons apprehended within the |
|
|
United States to foreign jurisdictions; |
|
|
(6) in authorizing the actions described by |
|
|
Subdivision (5) of this subsection, Sections 1021 and 1022 of the |
|
|
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L. |
|
|
No. 112-81) are inimical to the liberty, security, and well-being |
|
|
of the citizens of the State of Texas by violating: |
|
|
(A) the Texas Constitution; |
|
|
(B) the limits of federal power authorized by |
|
|
Article I, Section 8, United States Constitution; |
|
|
(C) the legal doctrine of Posse Comitatus under |
|
|
18 U.S.C. Section 1385 by authorizing the armed forces of the United |
|
|
States to police the United States; and |
|
|
(D) the following provisions of the United States |
|
|
Constitution: |
|
|
(i) Article I, Section 9, Clause 2 |
|
|
(ensuring the right to seek a habeas corpus); |
|
|
(ii) the First Amendment (ensuring the |
|
|
right to petition the federal government for the redress of |
|
|
grievances); |
|
|
(iii) the Fourth Amendment (ensuring the |
|
|
right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure); |
|
|
(iv) the Fifth Amendment (requiring capital |
|
|
or infamous crimes to be brought before a grand jury before charging |
|
|
the defendant and prohibiting deprivation of life, liberty, or |
|
|
property without due process of law); |
|
|
(v) the Sixth Amendment (ensuring the right |
|
|
to a speedy trial by an impartial jury in the state or district |
|
|
where the offense was alleged to have been committed, the right to |
|
|
be informed of the nature and cause of accusations and charges |
|
|
levied, the right to retain legal counsel, and the right to confront |
|
|
witnesses); |
|
|
(vi) the Eighth Amendment (prohibiting |
|
|
excessive bail and fines and prohibiting cruel and unusual |
|
|
punishment); and |
|
|
(vii) the Fourteenth Amendment |
|
|
(prohibiting deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due |
|
|
process of law); and |
|
|
(7) the actions described by Subdivision (5) of this |
|
|
subsection as authorized by Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National |
|
|
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L. No. |
|
|
112-81), and the enforcement of those actions, are illegal within |
|
|
this state. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Chapter 421, Government Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Subchapter G to read as follows: |
|
|
SUBCHAPTER G. TEXAS LIBERTY PRESERVATION ACT |
|
|
Sec. 421.101. CERTAIN PORTIONS OF THE FEDERAL NATIONAL |
|
|
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2012 INVALID. Sections 1021 and 1022 |
|
|
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 |
|
|
(Pub. L. No. 112-81) violate portions of federal law, the United |
|
|
States Constitution, and the Texas Constitution and, as such, are |
|
|
invalid and illegal in this state. |
|
|
Sec. 421.102. POLICY; VIOLATION OF SUBCHAPTER. It is the |
|
|
policy of this state to refuse to provide material support for or to |
|
|
participate in any way with the implementation within this state of |
|
|
Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act |
|
|
for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L. No. 112-81). Any act to enforce or |
|
|
attempt to enforce those laws is in violation of this subchapter. |
|
|
Sec. 421.103. OFFENSES; PENALTIES. (a) A person who is an |
|
|
official, agent, or employee of the United States or an employee of |
|
|
a corporation providing services to the United States commits an |
|
|
offense if the person enforces or attempts to enforce a statute, a |
|
|
rule or regulation, an order, or any law of the United States in |
|
|
violation of this subchapter. |
|
|
(b) An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor |
|
|
punishable by confinement for a term not to exceed one year, a fine |
|
|
of not more than $10,000, or both the confinement and the fine. |
|
|
(c) A person who is a public officer or employee of this |
|
|
state commits an offense if that person enforces or attempts to |
|
|
enforce a statute, a rule or regulation, an order, or any law of the |
|
|
United States in violation of this subchapter. |
|
|
(d) An offense under Subsection (c) is a Class B misdemeanor |
|
|
punishable by confinement for a term not to exceed 180 days, a fine |
|
|
of not more than $5,000, or both the confinement and the fine. |
|
|
Sec. 421.104. REPORT. The Texas Department of Public |
|
|
Safety shall report to the governor and the legislature any attempt |
|
|
by the federal government to implement Section 1021 or 1022 of the |
|
|
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L. |
|
|
No. 112-81) through the Texas Department of Public Safety or |
|
|
another state agency. |
|
|
SECTION 3. 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, 2013. |