By: Hughes, Taylor S.B. No. 1360
(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2021; March 18, 2021, read
first time and referred to Committee on Higher Education;
May 21, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 21, 2021,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1360 By: Springer
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to notice of certain criminal conduct by a student or
employee of a public or private institution of higher education in
this state; authorizing a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.956 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.956. NOTICE OF CERTAIN CRIMINAL CONDUCT. (a) This
section applies only to criminal conduct that:
(1) is committed or alleged to have been committed by a
student or employee of a public or private institution of higher
education in this state; and
(2) poses or could have posed a threat to the security
of the institution, of any political subdivision in which the
institution is located, or of this state or nation.
(b) For purposes of this section, criminal conduct poses or
could have posed a threat to the security of a public or private
institution of higher education, of a political subdivision of this
state, or of this state or nation if the applicable conduct contains
elements of any of the following:
(1) theft of sensitive or protected intellectual
capital;
(2) unauthorized access to sensitive or protected
information such as intellectual capital, including a breach of
computer security for purposes of gaining access to that
information; or
(3) espionage conducted on behalf of a foreign
government.
(c) An administrator or department head of a public or
private institution of higher education who learns of a conviction,
indictment or other formal criminal charge, or incident of evasion
or abscondment occurring with respect to criminal conduct to which
this section applies shall promptly report that information to the
office of the president of the institution. The president shall
promptly report that information to the secretary and presiding
officer of the governing board of the institution.
(d) Not later than the 30th day after the date the president
of a public or private institution of higher education is notified
or otherwise learns of information described by Subsection (c), the
president shall provide written notice regarding that information
to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house
of representatives, and the presiding officer of each standing
committee of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over higher
education matters. Subject to Subsection (e), the written notice
must contain any details about the information that are known by the
president at the time of the notice, including, if known:
(1) the degree of access of the specified individual
to sensitive or protected intellectual capital or to other
sensitive or protected information;
(2) any link or affiliation of the individual to or
with a foreign government or an organization affiliated with a
foreign government; and
(3) a description of the nature and seriousness of the
applicable conduct.
(e) The information required under Subsection (d) may be
limited or redacted at the request of an appropriate investigative,
prosecutorial, or judicial entity if that entity determines that
the disclosure of that information would impair any pending
judicial proceeding, including an appellate proceeding. The name
of a suspected individual who has not yet been convicted or charged
must be redacted for purposes of any notice provided under this
section.
(f) The notice is confidential and not subject to disclosure
under Chapter 552, Government Code.
(g) A public or private institution of higher education
whose president fails to timely provide the written notice as
required by Subsection (d) is liable to the state for a civil
penalty in an amount not to exceed $20,000 for each violation. The
attorney general may investigate any alleged violation of this
section and may sue to collect the civil penalty described by this
subsection.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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