Cain Lobbying Bill Covers A Foreign Official’s Spouse’s Sibling

The text as introduced · 752 words

89R10582 CJD-F

By: Cain
H.B. No. 2912

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a prohibition on engaging in lobbying activities on

behalf of a foreign adversary; providing a civil penalty.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 305, Government Code, is

amended by adding Section 305.030 to read as follows:

Sec. 305.030. LOBBYING ON BEHALF OF 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) the People's Republic of China;

(B) the Russian Federation;

(C) the Islamic Republic of Iran;

(D) the Democratic People's Republic of Korea;

(E) the Republic of Cuba;

(F) the Venezuelan regime under Nicolás Maduro;

(G) the Syrian Arab Republic;

(H) an agency or entity under the control of a

country described by Paragraphs (A) through (G);

(I) a person wholly or partly owned or operated

by or subject to the control of a country described by Paragraphs

(A) through (G);

(J) a subsidiary or parent of a person described

by Paragraph (I);

(K) a person organized under the laws of or that

has its principal place of business in a country described by

Paragraphs (A) through (G); and

(L) a subsidiary of a person described by

Paragraph (K).

(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 may not communicate 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.

(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

$50,000 for each violation.

(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 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.