88R20427 JAM-F
	By: Romero, Jr., Bernal	H.B. No. 883
	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 883:
	By:  Lozano	C.S.H.B. No. 883

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the regulation of migrant labor housing facilities;
	authorizing an increase in the amount of a fee; changing the amount
	of a civil penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 2306.922, Government Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 2306.922.  LICENSE REQUIRED. A person may not:
	(1)  establish, maintain, or operate a migrant labor
	housing facility without obtaining a license for the facility from
	the department; or
	(2)  procure or otherwise provide housing for migrant
	agricultural workers without ensuring that the applicable migrant
	labor housing facility is licensed under this subchapter.
	SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 2306.923, Government
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 2306.923.  LICENSE APPLICATION; FEE [APPLICATION
	INSPECTION].
	SECTION 3.  Section 2306.923, Government Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (e), (f), and (g) to
	read as follows:
	(d)  An applicant who seeks to substitute an inspection
	conducted by the United States Department of Labor or the Texas
	Workforce Commission for a pre-occupation inspection conducted by
	the department under Section 2306.924 must include with the
	application:
	(1)  individualized affirmations regarding the
	facility's compliance with each state standard established by this
	subchapter; and
	(2)  electronically submitted digital images of the
	facility that hold metadata verifying when and where the images
	were taken.
	(e)  The department shall prescribe the form and manner of an
	application made under this section.
	(f)  The application must be accompanied by a reasonable
	[the] license fee established by the board by rule in an amount
	sufficient to cover the costs of administering this subchapter,
	including costs associated with conducting inspections and
	reinspections under this subchapter. The license fee may not
	exceed $75.
	(g)  A fee collected under this section shall be deposited to
	the credit of the general revenue fund and may be appropriated to
	the department for the administration of this subchapter.
	SECTION 4.  The heading to Section 2306.924, Government
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 2306.924.  PRE-OCCUPATION INSPECTION.
	SECTION 5.  Section 2306.925, Government Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
	follows:
	(a)  The department may not issue a license for a migrant
	labor housing facility that does not meet the reasonable minimum
	standards of construction, sanitation, equipment, and operation
	required by rules adopted under this subchapter.
	(a-1)  If a migrant labor housing facility for which a
	license application is made does not meet the [reasonable] minimum
	standards described by Subsection (a) [of construction,
	sanitation, equipment, and operation required by rules adopted
	under this subchapter], the department at the time of inspection
	shall give the license applicant in writing the reasons that the
	facility does not meet those standards. The applicant may remedy
	the deficiency and request the department to reinspect the facility
	[not later than the 60th day after the date on which the reasons are
	given].
	SECTION 6.  Section 2306.926(b), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(b)  The license expires on the first anniversary of the date
	of issuance. Not later than the 60th day before the date a license
	is scheduled to expire, the department shall give notice of the
	expiration to the license holder.
	SECTION 7.  Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
	amended by amending Sections 2306.927, 2306.928, and 2306.929 and
	adding Section 2306.9281 to read as follows:
	Sec. 2306.927.  [LICENSE] POSTING OF LICENSE AND COMPLAINT
	INFORMATION. A person who holds a license issued under this
	subchapter shall post [the license] in the licensed migrant labor
	housing facility at all times during the maintenance or operation
	of the facility a copy of:
	(1)  the license; and
	(2)  information describing in English and Spanish the
	complaint procedures provided by Section 2306.929.
	Sec. 2306.928.  INSPECTION OF FACILITIES. (a)  Before
	conducting an inspection of a migrant labor housing facility under
	this section, an authorized representative of the department must
	give or make a reasonable attempt to give notice to the persons who:
	(1)  are the providers of the facility, based on
	evidence available to the department; and
	(2)  if applicable, are alleged to be the providers of
	the facility in any complaint filed under this chapter.
	(b)  An authorized representative of the department, after
	giving or making a reasonable attempt to give notice under
	Subsection (a):
	(1)  shall inspect the facility on receipt of a
	complaint under Section 2306.929, including a report of an
	unlicensed migrant labor housing facility; and
	(2)  [to the operator of a migrant labor housing
	facility,] may otherwise enter and inspect the facility during
	reasonable hours and investigate conditions, practices, or other
	matters as necessary or appropriate to determine whether a person
	has violated this subchapter or a rule adopted under this
	subchapter.
	(c)  In addition to the inspection required under Subsection
	(b)(1), the department by rule shall:
	(1)  prioritize the inspection of migrant labor housing
	facilities during the probable period of use of the facility as
	stated under Section 2306.923(c)(3); and
	(2)  establish an annual quota of proactive inspections
	of suspected unlicensed or noncompliant migrant labor housing
	facilities.
	(d)  The quota established under Subsection (c)(2) may not be
	less than 15 percent of the number of migrant labor housing
	facilities licensed under this subchapter in the preceding state
	fiscal year. An inspection conducted under Subsection (c)(1) may
	be used to satisfy the quota established by Subsection (c)(2).
	(e)  During an inspection conducted under Subsection (b)(1),
	the inspector shall:
	(1)  conduct interviews with occupants of the facility,
	including any person who submitted a complaint requiring the
	inspection under Subsection (b)(1);
	(2)  make written notes regarding the inspection at the
	time of the inspection or immediately after the inspection; and
	(3)  take photographs of any violations.
	(f)  An interview under Subsection (e)(1) must be conducted:
	(1)  after working hours or on rest days, to the extent
	possible; and
	(2)  out of the presence of any person who owns or
	establishes or who maintains, operates, or otherwise provides the
	migrant labor housing facility or any person who employs the
	migrant agricultural workers occupying the facility.
	Sec. 2306.9281.  INSPECTION REPORT. (a) After an
	inspection, the inspector shall submit to the department a report
	containing:
	(1)  a narrative regarding the alleged violation and
	the methods used to investigate the alleged violation;
	(2)  a determination of whether the alleged violation,
	or any other violation, exists; and
	(3)  evidence supporting the determination made under
	Subdivision (2), including any photographs taken under Section
	2306.928(e)(3).
	(b)  The department by rule shall establish and require the
	use of a standardized inspection report form for conducting
	inspections under Section 2306.928.
	Sec. 2306.929.  COMPLAINTS [FEE]. (a) The department by
	rule shall:
	(1)  establish procedures for the submission,
	investigation, and resolution of complaints of alleged violations
	of this subchapter, including a procedure through which other state
	agencies that receive a complaint under Subsection (b)(2) can
	report the complaint to the department; and
	(2)  adopt a standardized complaint form.
	(b)  The procedures established under Subsection (a)(1) must
	allow the submission of complaints:
	(1)  by a third party; and
	(2)  through the department's Internet website, at any
	state agency, by telephone, or in writing.
	(c)  The form adopted under Subsection (a)(2) must allow for
	the collection of information regarding:
	(1)  the name, address, and contact information of:
	(A)  the employer;
	(B)  the farm labor contractor; and
	(C)  the migrant labor housing facility provider;
	(2)  the address, including a unit number, and location
	of the facility and directions to the facility;
	(3)  the number of migrant agricultural workers:
	(A)  currently occupying the facility; and
	(B)  occupying the facility during the peak period
	of occupancy;
	(4)  the dates the facility has been occupied and the
	approximate length of the season for which the facility will be
	occupied;
	(5)  the type of work performed by the workers
	occupying the facility;
	(6)  whether the postings required under Section
	2306.927 are displayed;
	(7)  complaints about the facility; and
	(8)  any other information the department considers
	necessary.
	(d)  The department shall consider a report regarding an
	unlicensed migrant labor housing facility to be a complaint under
	this section.
	(e)  The department shall make available to a person
	submitting a complaint information regarding other housing and
	transportation resources available to the person.
	(f)  Personal identifying information of a person submitting
	a complaint under this section is confidential and not subject to
	disclosure under Chapter 552.
	(g)  If a complaint filed under this section is dismissed or
	not yet resolved before the 181st day after the date the complaint
	was filed, the department shall provide timely written notice of
	the dismissal or failure to resolve the complaint to the person
	filing the complaint. The notice must be sent by certified mail [The
	board shall set the license fee in an amount not to exceed $250].
	SECTION 8.  The heading to Section 2306.931, Government
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 2306.931.  ENFORCEMENT; ADOPTION OF RULES REGARDING
	HEALTH AND SAFETY AND LICENSING.
	SECTION 9.  Section 2306.931(e), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(e)  The board by rule shall adopt minimum standards for
	issuing, revoking, or suspending a license issued under this
	subchapter, including rules that provide for the immediate
	suspension or revocation of a license for certain violations that
	constitute threats to the health and safety of persons living in
	migrant labor housing facilities.
	SECTION 10.  Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government Code,
	is amended by amending Section 2306.933 and adding Sections
	2306.934, 2306.935, and 2306.936 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 [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 who, at the time of
	the violation, lived in the migrant labor housing facility that is
	the subject of the violation.
	(c)  An action may be brought under Subsection (b)(3) only
	if:
	(1)  before the 181st day after the date the complaint
	was filed, the department dismisses a complaint filed under Section
	2306.929 or does not resolve the complaint; and
	(2)  the complainant receives approval from the
	department in the manner provided by Subsection (d).
	(d)  Beginning on the 181st day after a complaint is filed
	under Section 2306.929, a complainant whose complaint has not yet
	been dismissed or otherwise resolved is entitled to request from
	the department a written notice of the complainant's right to file a
	civil action. The complainant must request the notice in writing.
	The executive director may issue the notice. Failure to issue the
	notice of a complainant's right to file a civil action does not
	affect the complainant's right under this section to bring a civil
	action against the respondent.
	(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.  ATTORNEY'S FEES. In an action under this
	subchapter, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees to the
	prevailing party.
	Sec. 2306.935.  RETALIATION PROHIBITED. A person who owns,
	establishes, maintains, operates, procures, makes arrangements
	for, 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. 2306.936.  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 11.  Not later than March 1, 2024, 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 12.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
	this section, the change in law made by this Act applies only to an
	administrative or regulatory action taken on or after the effective
	date of this Act. An administrative or regulatory action taken
	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
	applicable to the administrative or regulatory action immediately
	before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
	effect for that purpose.
	(b)  The change in law made by this Act in amending Section
	2306.933, Government Code, and adding Section 2306.934, Government
	Code, applies only to a violation that occurs on or after the
	effective date of this Act. A violation occurs before the effective
	date of this Act if any element of the violation occurs before that
	date. 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.
	SECTION 13.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.