Relating to the registration as a lobbyist of persons who engage in certain lobbying activities on behalf of a foreign adversary and to prohibitions on the receipt of compensation related to those lobbying activities; providing a civil penalty.
relating to the registration as a lobbyist of persons who engage in
certain lobbying activities on behalf of a foreign adversary and to
prohibitions on the receipt of compensation related to those
lobbying activities; providing a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 305.003(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A person must register with the commission under this
chapter if the person:
(1) makes a total expenditure of an amount determined
by commission rule but not less than $200 in a calendar quarter, not
including the person’s own travel, food, or lodging expenses or the
person’s own membership dues, on activities described in Section
305.006(b) to communicate directly with one or more members of the
legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or
administrative action; [or]
(2) receives, or is entitled to receive under an
agreement under which the person is retained or employed,
compensation or reimbursement, not including reimbursement for the
person’s own travel, food, or lodging expenses or the person’s own
membership dues, of more than an amount determined by commission
rule but not less than $200 in a calendar quarter from another
person to communicate directly with a member of the legislative or
executive branch to influence legislation or administrative
action; or
(3) communicates directly with one or more members of
the legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or
administrative action on behalf of a foreign adversary, a foreign
adversary client, or a foreign adversary political party, as those
terms are defined by Section 305.030.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 305, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 305.030 to read as follows:
Sec. 305.030. COMPENSATION FROM FOREIGN ADVERSARY AND
RELATED PERSONS PROHIBITED; CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. (a) In this
section:
(1) “Control” means the direct or indirect power to
determine, direct, dictate, or decide important matters affecting
an entity, including through:
(A) the ownership of at least 20 percent of the
total outstanding voting interest in an entity;
(B) board representation;
(C) the ability to appoint or discharge a board
member, officer, director, employee, or contractor;
(D) proxy voting, a special share, a contractual
arrangement, a legal obligation, or a formal or informal
arrangement to act in concert; or
(E) another means of exercising power.
(2) “Foreign adversary” means:
(A) a foreign government or foreign
nongovernment person designated as a foreign adversary by the
United States secretary of commerce under 15 C.F.R. Section 791.4;
(B) an agency or entity under the control of a
country described by Paragraph (A);
(C) a person wholly or partly owned or operated
by or subject to the control of a country described by Paragraph
(A);
(D) a subsidiary or parent of a person described
by Paragraph (C);
(E) a person organized under the laws of or that
has its principal place of business in a country described by
Paragraph (A); and
(F) a subsidiary of a person described by
Paragraph (E).
(3) “Foreign adversary client” means:
(A) a current or former:
(i) official in the executive, legislative,
administrative, military, or judicial branch of a foreign
adversary;
(ii) official of a foreign adversary
political party; or
(iii) executive or officer of a foreign
adversary;
(B) a corporation, business, or other entity that
has been formed by, or for the benefit of, a person described by
Paragraph (A); and
(C) an immediate family member of a person
described by Paragraph (A), including the person’s spouse, parent,
sibling, and child and a parent or sibling of the person’s spouse.
(4) “Foreign adversary political party” means an
organization or a combination of individuals in the jurisdictional
limits of a foreign adversary, including a unit or branch of a
foreign adversary’s government, that is engaged in an activity
wholly or partly devoted to or whose aim or purpose is to:
(A) establish, administer, control, or acquire
the administration or control of a foreign adversary or a
subdivision of a foreign adversary; or
(B) further or influence the political or public
interests, policies, or relations of a foreign adversary or a
subdivision of a foreign adversary.
(5) “Wholly or partly owned or operated” means:
(A) for a person that is a publicly traded
company, that a foreign adversary has:
(i) the ability to exercise control over
the company;
(ii) access to any material, nonpublic, and
technical information in the company’s possession; or
(iii) other rights or involvement in
controlling or participating in the decision-making of the company
beyond those available to a retail investor holding an equivalent
share of ownership; and
(B) for a person that is a privately held
company, that a foreign adversary has any share of ownership of the
company.
(b) A registrant who is required to register under Section
305.003(a)(3) may not receive or agree to receive direct or
indirect compensation, including intangible or in-kind
compensation, from a foreign adversary, a foreign adversary client,
or a foreign adversary political party on whose behalf the
registrant communicates directly with one or more members of the
legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or
administrative action.
(c) The attorney general may bring an action for injunctive
relief against a registrant who violates this section or is
threatening to violate this section. In an injunction issued under
this section, a court may include reasonable requirements to
prevent further violations of this section.
(d) In addition to injunctive relief under Subsection (c),
the attorney general may bring an action for civil penalties
against a registrant who violates this section. A civil penalty
assessed under this section must be in an amount not to exceed:
(1) $10,000 for each violation; and
(2) the amount of any compensation the registrant
received in violation of this section.
(e) The attorney general may recover reasonable expenses
incurred in bringing an action under this section, including court
costs, reasonable attorney’s fees, investigative costs, witness
fees, and deposition costs.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
conduct requiring a person to register as a lobbyist or to
compensation received by a person required to register as a
lobbyist under Chapter 305, Government Code, that occurs or is
received on or after the effective date of this Act. Conduct that
occurs or compensation received before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct
occurred or compensation was received, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
