By: Romero, Jr.	H.B. No. 2365

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the regulation of migrant labor housing facilities.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 2306.921(3), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(3)  "Migrant labor housing facility" means a facility
	that is established, operated, or used for more than three days as
	living quarters for [two or more seasonal, temporary, or migrant
	families or] three or more [seasonal, temporary, or] migrant
	agricultural workers, whether rent is paid or reserved in
	connection with the use of the facility.
	SECTION 2.  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)  otherwise provide housing for migrant
	agricultural workers without ensuring that the migrant labor
	housing facility is licensed under this subchapter.
	SECTION 3.  The heading to Section 2306.923, Government
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 2306.923.  LICENSE APPLICATION; FEE [APPLICATION
	INSPECTION].
	SECTION 4.  Section 2306.923(d), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(d)  The application must be accompanied by a [the] license
	fee in an amount established by board rule.
	SECTION 5.  The heading to Section 2306.924, Government
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 2306.924.  PRE-OCCUPATION INSPECTION.
	SECTION 6.  Section 2306.925(a), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(a)  If a migrant labor housing facility for which a license
	application is made does not meet the reasonable minimum standards
	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 10th [60th] day after the date on which
	the reasons are given.
	SECTION 7.  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 8.  Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
	amended by adding Section 2306.9261 to read as follows:
	Sec. 2306.9261.  THIRD-PARTY APPEAL OF LICENSE
	DETERMINATION. The department by rule shall adopt procedures
	through which third parties, including migrant agricultural
	workers and advocacy groups, may appeal the issuance or denial of a
	license or the imposition of a condition on a license.
	SECTION 9.  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) An
	authorized representative of the department, after giving or making
	a reasonable attempt to give notice to the provider [operator] of a
	migrant labor housing facility:
	(1)  shall inspect the facility:
	(A)  on receipt of a complaint under Section
	2306.929, including a report of an unlicensed migrant labor housing
	facility; and
	(B)  at least once during the probable period of
	use of the facility as stated under Section 2306.923(c)(3); and
	(2)  [,] 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.
	(b)  In addition to the inspections required under
	Subsection (a)(1), the department by rule shall establish an annual
	quota of proactive inspections of suspected unlicensed or
	noncompliant migrant labor housing facilities.
	(c)  During an inspection conducted under Subsection (a)(1),
	the inspector shall:
	(1)  conduct interviews with occupants of the facility,
	including any person who submitted a complaint requiring the
	inspection under Subsection(a)(1)(A), if known; and
	(2)  take photographs of any violations.
	(d)  An interview under Subsection (c)(1) must be conducted:
	(1)  after working hours or on rest days, to the extent
	possible; and
	(2)  out of the presence of a person who owns or
	establishes or who maintains, operates, or otherwise provides the
	migrant labor housing facility and a 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(c)(2).
	(b)  A report under Subsection (a) must be made available to
	the public on the department's Internet website. The department
	shall redact each migrant agricultural worker's name and other
	personal information contained in a report made available under
	this subsection.
	(c)  The department by rule shall establish a standardized
	inspection report form for use in 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 procedure established under Subsection (a)(1) must
	allow the submission of complaints:
	(1)  anonymously or by a third party; and
	(2)  through the department's Internet website, in
	person at any nonprofit organization that assists migrant
	agricultural workers in finding employment or at any state agency,
	by phone, 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 and location of 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, if the identity of that person is known,
	information regarding other housing and transportation resources
	available to the person [The board shall set the license fee in an
	amount not to exceed $250].
	SECTION 10.  Subchapter LL, Chapter 2306, Government Code,
	is amended by adding Section 2306.9305 to read as follows:
	Sec. 2306.9305.  DUTY TO PROVIDE HOUSING ON SUSPENSION OR
	REVOCATION OF LICENSE. (a) The department by rule shall establish
	procedures requiring the owner or provider of a migrant labor
	housing facility, on suspension or revocation of a license as
	provided by Section 2306.930, to relocate or provide for the
	relocation of the occupants of the facility to another facility
	that:
	(1)  meets the occupancy standards of this subchapter;
	and
	(2)  is located in the same area as the vacated
	facility.
	(b)  An owner or provider required to relocate an occupant
	under Subsection (a) shall pay any rental cost of the relocation
	facility that exceeds the rent of the vacated facility.
	SECTION 11.  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 12.  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 severe threats to the health and safety of persons
	living in migrant labor housing facilities.
	SECTION 13.  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)  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.
	(d)  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.  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. 2306.935.  ATTORNEY'S FEES. The court in a suit brought
	under this subchapter may award reasonable attorney's fees to the
	prevailing party.
	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 in English
	and Spanish informing the workers of their rights and remedies
	under this subchapter; and
	(2)  to persons who own, establish, maintain, operate,
	or otherwise provide migrant labor housing facilities, educational
	materials or programs in English and Spanish informing 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 in English and Spanish the information
	described by Subsection (a); 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 14.  Not later than March 1, 2018, 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 15.  (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 2306.935, 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 16.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.