2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE BILL NO. 206
BY SENATOR MILLIGAN
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 17:1826.2(A)(2) and (3), (B)(1)(a) and (b), and (C)(4)(a),
3 1826.3(A)(1)(b) and (c), (C), (D)(6), and (E), 1826.4(A), (B)(2), (C), and (D) as
4 enacted by Section 1 of Act 767 of the 2022 Regular Session, relative to the Higher
5 Education Foreign Security Act of 2022; to provide for foreign gift reporting; to
6 provide for definitions; to provide for screening of foreign researchers; to provide
7 for foreign travel; to provide for research institutions; and to provide for related
8 matters.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 17:1826.2(A)(2) and (3), (B)(1)(a) and (b), and (C)(4)(a),
11 1826.3(A)(1)(b) and (c), (C), (D)(6) and (E), 1826.4(A), (B)(2), (C) and (D) as enacted by
12 Section 1 of Act 767 of the 2022 Regular Session are hereby amended and reenacted to read
13 as follows:
14 §1826.2. Foreign gift reporting
15 A. As used in this Section, the following words shall have the following
16 meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
17 * * *
18 (2) "Contract" means any agreement for the acquisition by purchase, lease,
19 or barter of property or services by a foreign source for the direct benefit or use of
20 any of the parties, and any purchase, lease, or barter of property or services from a
21 foreign country of concern adversary.
ACT No. 106
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1 (3) "Foreign country of concern" means any country subject to any sanction
2 or embargo program administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control within the
3 United States Department of Treasury, including any federal license requirement;
4 custom rules; export controls; restrictions on taking institution property, including
5 but not limited to intellectual property abroad; restrictions on presentations, teaching,
6 and interactions with foreign colleagues; and other subjects important to the research
7 and academic property of the institution, subject to either or both the International
8 Traffic in Arms Regulations, 22 CFR Parts 120 through 130, and the Export
9 Administration Regulations, 15 CFR Parts 730 through 774. adversary" means any
10 foreign government or foreign non-government person determined by the
11 United States secretary of commerce to have engaged in a long-term pattern or
12 serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the
13 United States or security and safety of United States persons as listed in 15 CFR
14 §7.4 Determination of Foreign Adversaries, as amended or renumbered.
15 * * *
16 B.(1)(a) Each institution shall report any gift received directly or indirectly
17 from a foreign source adversary with a value of fifty thousand dollars or more. This
18 report shall be made each January thirty-first and July thirty-first and shall include
19 the gifts made during the six-month period ending on the last day of the month
20 immediately preceding the reporting month. The institution shall include in its report
21 gifts received by all affiliate organizations of the institution.
22 (b) If a foreign source adversary provides more than one gift directly or
23 indirectly to an institution and its affiliate organizations in a single fiscal calendar
24 year and the total value of all gifts is fifty thousand dollars or more, then all gifts
25 received from that foreign source shall be reported.
26 * * *
27 C. Reports of gifts subject to the requirements of this Section shall include
28 the following information, unless the information is exempt from disclosure under
29 the provisions of this Section or otherwise prohibited or deemed confidential under
30 federal or state law:
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1 * * *
2 (4)(a) A copy of any gift agreement between the foreign source and the
3 institution, signed by the foreign source and the chief administrative officer of the
4 institution, or their respective designees, which includes a detailed description of the
5 purpose for which the gift is to be used by the institution, the identification of the
6 persons whom the gift is explicitly intended to benefit, and any applicable
7 conditions, requirements, restrictions, or terms made a part of the gift regarding the
8 control of curricula, faculty, student admissions, student fees, or contingencies
9 placed upon the institution to take a specific public position or to award an honorary
10 degree. If an agreement contains information protected from disclosure, an abstract
11 and redacted copy of the disclosure containing information that is not protected shall
12 be submitted in lieu of a copy of the agreement.
13 * * *
14 §1826.3. Screening foreign researchers
15 A.(1) Every person seeking employment with a postsecondary education
16 institution as defined in R.S. 17:1826.2 in a research or research-related support
17 position, or applying as a graduate student for a research or research-related support
18 position, or for a position as a visiting researcher shall, prior to being offered a
19 position of employment, be screened by the institution to determine if any of the
20 following apply to the person:
21 * * *
22 (b) The person is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States who has
23 any affiliation with an institution or program in with a foreign country of concern
24 as defined in R.S. 17:1826.2 adversary.
25 (c) The person has at least one year of prior employment or training in a
26 foreign adversary country of concern as defined in R.S. 17:1826.2, except for
27 employment or training by an agency of the United States government.
28 * * *
29 C. Each applicant for a position listed in Subsection A of this Section shall
30 submit a complete resume and curriculum vitae, including every institution of higher
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1 education attended; all previous employment since the applicant's eighteenth
2 birthday; a list of all published material for which the applicant received credit as an
3 author, a researcher, or otherwise or to which the applicant contributed significant
4 research, writing, or editorial support; a list of the applicant's current and pending
5 research funding, and its amount, from any source, including the applicant's role on
6 the project, and a brief description of the research; and a full disclosure of
7 nonuniversity professional activities, including any affiliation with an institution or
8 program in a foreign adversary country of concern. If an applicant has been
9 continually employed or enrolled in a postsecondary education institution in the
10 United States for twenty years or more, the resume may, but is not required to,
11 include employment history before the most recent twenty-year period.
12 D. The president or chief administrative officer of the institution shall adopt
13 a policy for the proper screening of all individuals subject to this Part for research-
14 related support positions and shall take necessary and reasonable steps to verify all
15 attendance, employment, publications, and contributions listed in the application
16 prior to any offer of a position to the applicant. Necessary and reasonable steps may
17 include the following:
18 * * *
19 (6) Requesting further investigation, including but not limited to a second
20 background check performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Louisiana
21 State Police, or any other qualified local law enforcement agency, if any of the
22 individual's information provided on the Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application,
23 Form DS-160 raises any security concerns for the institution about the individual's
24 relationship with a foreign country of concern adversary.
25 E. Each institution may direct the research integrity officer shall develop a
26 policy to approve an applicant for hire based on a risk-based determination
27 considering the nature of the research and the background and ongoing affiliations
28 of the applicant.
29 * * *
30 §1826.4. Foreign travel; research institutions
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1 A. By July 1, 2023, each postsecondary education institution as defined in
2 R.S. 17:1826.2 that receives state appropriations and has a research budget of ten
3 million dollars or more shall establish an international travel approval and
4 monitoring program. The program shall require preapproval and screening by the
5 institution for any employment-related foreign travel to foreign adversary
6 countries and employment-related foreign activities engaged in by any faculty
7 member, researcher, or any other research department staff with foreign
8 adversaries. This requirement is in addition to any other travel approval process
9 applicable to the institution.
10 B. * * *
11 (2) Preapproval shall be based on the binding commitment of the individual
12 traveler not to violate the institution's limitations on travel and activities abroad and
13 to obey all applicable federal laws. Any person subject to this Section traveling
14 abroad representing their respective institution, upon return, shall report any gifts of
15 funds or promises to pay offered by a foreign country of concern adversary or any
16 entity representing the interests of a foreign country of concern adversary.
17 C. The postsecondary education institution shall maintain records of all
18 employment-related foreign travel requests and approvals to foreign adversary
19 countries; expenses reimbursed by the institution or affiliate organization of the
20 institution during travel, including for transportation, food, and lodging; and
21 payments and honoraria received during the travel and activities, including for
22 transportation, food, and lodging. The institution shall keep records of the purpose
23 of the travel and any records related to the foreign activity review. These records
24 shall be retained for at least three years or any longer period of time required by any
25 other applicable state or federal law.
26 D. The institution shall provide an annual report of travel to foreign
27 adversary countries of concern as defined in R.S. 17:1826.2 listing individual
28 travelers, foreign locations visited, and foreign institutions visited to the board of
29 supervisors of the applicable institution.
30 * * *
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1 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2023; if vetoed by the governor
2 and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become effective on the day
3 following such approval by the legislature or July 1, 2023, whichever is later.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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