SB 145/a PUBLIC BODIES & FEDERAL IMMIGRATION VIOLATION

Sen Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez

Actions: [2] SCC/SHPAC/SJC-SCC-germane-SHPAC [6] DP/a-SJC- DP [7] fl/a- FAILED/S (18-21).

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

 Senate Bill 145 (SB 145) prohibits public bodies from entering into agreements to detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations. It also requires the termination of any such agreements and prohibits public bodies from using public resources to facilitate detaining individuals for federal civil immigration violations.  

 Senate Bill 145 (SB 145) enacts a new law that makes the following prohibitions regarding state public bodies aiding in the detention of individuals for federal civil immigration violations. 

First, the bill prohibits any public body to enter into or renew any agreement to detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations.  If any such agreement is already in existence, SB 145 requires that the public body exercise the termination provision in the contract no later than May 15, 2024, or as soon as possible after this date in accordance to the termination terms of the contract.  The bill allows a public body to receive and distribute payments related to these agreements for the time period between exercising the termination provision and the date that termination becomes effective.

Second, the bill prohibits public bodies from using public resources to facilitate detaining individuals for federal civil immigration violations. This includes: (1) selling or leasing real estate or personal property that will be used to detain these individuals; (2) using public funds to pay or subsidize costs related to the sale, purchase, construction or management of facility that will detain these individuals; (3) receiving per diem payments for individuals detained for federal civil immigration violations; (4) giving any financial incentive for facilitating a facility that detains or will detain these individuals; or (5) imposing any law or policy that violates or conflicts with this law.  
 

 On February 5, 2024, Senate Floor Amendment number 1 added a provision that the bill does not limit the ability of law enforcement personnel to temporarily detain individuals for the purpose of an investigatory detention. 

On January 31, 2024, the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee amended SB 145 by clarifying that a public body must exercise its contract’s termination provision by May 15, 2024 for the earliest effective date permissible under the termination provision.