Palestine lawmaker files two bills

AUSTIN (KRLD/Staff) — State Representative Cody Harris of Palestine has been busy in the days leading up to the legislative session. One bill he has filed would protect the due process rights of law enforcement officers. House Bill 799 would prevent what Harris refers to as “anti-police district attorneys and law enforcement agencies” from placing officers on the so-called Brady list, a public database that tracks police misconduct. Harris told the Corsicana Daily sun this bill is designed to “stop these radical DAs and reinstate the constitutionally guaranteed rights of law enforcement officers.” Harris said HB 799 would limit the use of unsubstantiated information concerning a law enforcement officer and the officer’s role as a witness in a criminal proceeding.

Another bill filed by Harris, HB 1075, seeks to prevent foreign governments from owning Texas agricultural lands. A similar measure comes from State Senator Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham. Senate Bill 147 names China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia as countries prohibited from future purchases of the lands. Kolkhorst notes the purchase in 2021 of over 130,000 acres near Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio by a Chinese-controlled firm for a windmill project. .