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.