SB 2601

relating to a program to compensate landowners for property damage
caused by certain criminal activities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1.  Article 56C.001(2), Code of Criminal Procedure,
(2)  "Border crime" means conduct:
(A)  constituting an offense under:
(i)  Subchapter D, Chapter 481, Health and
(ii)  Section 20.05, 20.06, or 38.04, Penal
(iii)  Chapter 20A, Penal Code; and
(B)  involving transnational criminal activity.
SECTION 2.  Article 56C.003, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (b-1) and
(a)  From money appropriated for the purpose, the attorney
general shall establish and administer a program to compensate
landowners and lessees who suffer real property damage on
(1)  a trespasser as a result of an offense under
Chapter 28, Penal Code, that was committed in the course of or in
furtherance of a border crime; or
(2)  a law enforcement response to a trespasser who was
(b-1)  For purposes of Subsection (a), damage caused to
agricultural land includes any debris, pollutants, or contaminants
left on the land during the applicable incident, and compensation
awarded under this article may include an amount necessary to
restore the soil to its agricultural use.
(c-1)  The attorney general may not award compensation under
this article to a lessee for real property damage caused by a
trespasser described by Subsection (a)(1) unless the lessee
provides a notarized statement from the landowner authorizing the
lessee to directly receive compensation awarded under this article
SECTION 3.  Section 2251.052, Insurance Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1)  In setting rates, an insurer may not consider whether
a claim has been made by or on behalf of a policyholder in relation
to an event documented by a report described by Article 56C.003(c),
SECTION 4.  Section 2251.052(a-1), Insurance Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to an insurance policy that is delivered,
issued for delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026.  A
policy delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed before January 1,
2026, is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the
effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.