Hughes Lobbying Bill Reaches Any Company With An Adversary Stake

The text as introduced · 1,101 words

89R14789 CJD-F

By: Hughes
S.B. No. 1845

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

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.