Bill Text: TX HB5 | 2013 | 83rd Legislature 3rd Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the Texas Liberty Preservation Act; providing penalties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-07-31 - Filed [HB5 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB5-Introduced.html
| By: Larson | H.B. No. 5 | |
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| 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 on the 91st day after the last day of the | ||
| legislative session. | ||
