Luther Bill Guards Chip Plants With A 15-Mile Ground Rule

The text as introduced · 890 words

89R4872 JRR-D

By: Luther
H.B. No. 1947

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to civil and criminal liability for engaging in certain

conduct involving a critical infrastructure facility; creating

criminal offenses.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 424.001, Government Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 424.001. DEFINITIONS [ DEFINITION ]. In this

chapter :

(1) "Critical [ , "critical ] infrastructure facility"

has the meaning assigned by Section 423.0045(a)(1-a) and also

includes:

(A) [ (1) ] any pipeline transporting oil or gas or

the products or constituents of oil or gas;

(B) [ (2) ] a public or private airport depicted in

any current aeronautical chart published by the Federal Aviation

Administration;

(C) [ (3) ] a military installation owned or

operated by or for the federal government, this state, or another

governmental entity;

(D) a semiconductor wafer manufacturing

facility; and

(E) [ (4) ] a facility or pipeline described by

this section that is under construction and all equipment and

appurtenances used during that construction.

(2) "Semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility"

means a manufacturing facility that includes any of the following

processes with respect to semiconductor production:

(A) growing single-crystal ingots or boules;

(B) wafer slicing;

(C) etching and polishing;

(D) bonding;

(E) cleaning;

(F) epitaxial deposition; or

(G) metrology.

SECTION 2. Section 424.051(a), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense if, without the effective

consent of the owner, the person :

(1) enters or remains on or in a critical

infrastructure facility and intentionally or knowingly damages or

destroys the facility ; or

(2) intentionally or knowingly disturbs the physical

environment, including increasing ground or subterranean vibration

levels, within 15 miles of a critical infrastructure facility and

the disturbance damages or destroys the facility .

SECTION 3. Section 424.052(a), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense if, without the effective

consent of the owner, the person :

(1) enters or remains on or in a critical

infrastructure facility and intentionally or knowingly impairs or

interrupts the operation of the facility ; or

(2) intentionally or knowingly disturbs the physical

environment, including increasing ground or subterranean vibration

levels, within 15 miles of a critical infrastructure facility and

the disturbance impairs or interrupts the operation of the

facility .

SECTION 4. Section 424.053(a), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense if, without the effective

consent of the owner, the person :

(1) enters or remains on or in a critical

infrastructure facility with the intent to damage or destroy the

facility ; or

(2) disturbs the physical environment, including

increasing ground or subterranean vibration levels, within 15 miles

of a critical infrastructure facility with the intent to damage or

destroy the facility .

SECTION 5. Section 424.054(a), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense if, without the effective

consent of the owner, the person :

(1) enters or remains on or in a critical

infrastructure facility with the intent to impair or interrupt the

operation of the facility ; or

(2) disturbs the physical environment, including

increasing ground or subterranean vibration levels, within 15 miles

of a critical infrastructure facility with the intent to impair or

interrupt the operation of the facility .

SECTION 6. Section 424.055, Government Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 424.055. PUNISHMENT FOR CORPORATIONS AND

ASSOCIATIONS. Notwithstanding Section 12.51, Penal Code, a court

shall sentence a corporation or association adjudged guilty of an

offense under this subchapter to pay a fine not to exceed $1 billion

[ $500,000 ].

SECTION 7. Section 424.102, Government Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 424.102. CERTAIN ADDITIONAL LIABILITY. In addition to

any liability under Section 424.101, an organization that, acting

through an officer, director, or other person serving in a

managerial capacity, knowingly compensates a person for engaging in

conduct occurring on the premises of a critical infrastructure

facility , or for disturbing the physical environment within 15

miles of a critical infrastructure facility, is liable to the

property owner, as provided by this subchapter, for damages arising

from the conduct if the conduct constituted an offense under

Section 424.051, 424.052, 424.053, or 424.054.

SECTION 8. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to

Chapter 424, Government Code, apply only to an offense committed on

or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed

before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in

effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is

continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this

subsection, an offense was committed before the effective date of

this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that

date.

(b) The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 424,

Government Code, apply only to a cause of action that accrues on or

after the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that

accrues before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law

in effect on the date the cause of action accrued, and the former

law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.