By: Hefner H.B. No. 4865
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to identification of and sanctions against certain foreign
actors.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 7, Government Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 795 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 795. TRACKING AND SANCTIONING CORRUPT FOREIGN ACTORS
Sec. 795.001. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) Not later than September
1 of each year, the secretary of state shall prepare a report that
identifies each foreign actor the secretary determines to have
knowingly engaged in actions that undermine the security and
sovereignty of this state, or in significant corruption or
obstruction of investigations into acts of corruption in the
foreign actor's home country, including:
(1) corruption related to government contracts;
(2) bribery and extortion;
(3) the transfer or facilitation of the transfer of
proceeds of corruption, including through money laundering;
(4) acts of violence, harassment, or intimidation
directed at governmental and nongovernmental corruption
investigators;
(5) engaging in or aiding and abetting drug
trafficking, human trafficking, or corruption across the
Texas-Mexico border; and
(6) facilitating the illegal entry of migrants into
this state from the United Mexican States.
(b) The secretary of state may obtain information necessary
to prepare a report required by Subsection (a) from:
(1) the Office of Foreign Assets Control within the
United States Department of the Treasury;
(2) the office of the attorney general;
(3) the Department of Public Safety;
(4) the comptroller; or
(5) any other state or federal agency having
information the secretary believes necessary to prepare the report.
(c) The secretary of state may notify an individual of the
secretary's intent to identify the individual in the annual report
and the possible ramifications of that identification.
(d) The secretary of state shall adopt rules necessary to
administer this section, including rules establishing a procedure
by which an individual identified in an annual report may seek
expungement of the individual's name from the report.
(e) The secretary of state shall publish the annual report
required by Subsection (a) on the secretary of state's public
Internet website.
Sec. 795.002. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS. With respect to
each foreign actor identified in a report required by Section
795.001(a):
(1) the comptroller shall prohibit the identified
individual and any business or other entity affiliated with the
individual from entering into contracts with any state agency or
political subdivision of this state;
(2) the secretary of state shall deny the application
for registration or seek revocation of the registration of any
foreign entity affiliated with the identified individual seeking to
transact business in this state and impose an appropriate civil
penalty as provided by Chapter 9, Business Organizations Code; and
(3) the governing board of an institution of higher
education, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, shall deny
admission to the foreign actor as provided by Section 51.811,
Education Code, or expel the foreign actor as provided by Section
51.9092, Education Code.
SECTION 2. Section 9.151(a), Business Organizations Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) A court may revoke the registration of a foreign filing
entity if, as a result of an action brought under Section 9.153, the
court finds that one or more of the following problems exist:
(1) the entity did not comply with a condition
precedent to the issuance of the entity's registration or an
amendment to the registration;
(2) the entity's registration or any amendment to the
entity's registration was fraudulently filed;
(3) a misrepresentation of a material matter was made
in an application, report, affidavit, or other document the entity
submitted under this code;
(4) the entity has continued to transact business
beyond the scope of the purpose or purposes expressed in the
entity's registration; [or]
(5) public interest requires revocation because:
(A) the entity has been convicted of a felony or a
high managerial agent of the entity has been convicted of a felony
committed in the conduct of the entity's affairs;
(B) the entity or the high managerial agent has
engaged in a persistent course of felonious conduct; and
(C) revocation is necessary to prevent future
felonious conduct of the same character; or
(6) a high managerial agent of the entity is a foreign
actor identified in the secretary of state's annual report of
corrupt foreign actors published under Chapter 795, Government
Code.
SECTION 3. Subchapter U, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.811 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.811. PROHIBITION ON ADMISSION OF CERTAIN
PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS CONNECTED WITH CORRUPT FOREIGN ACTIVITIES.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, Subchapter
W, or other law, the governing board of an institution of higher
education, as defined by Section 61.003, may not offer admission to
an applicant for admission to the institution or for admission to
any certificate or degree program, including a graduate,
postgraduate, or professional degree program, offered by the
institution, if the applicant is identified in the secretary of
state's annual report of corrupt foreign actors published under
Chapter 795, Government Code.
SECTION 4. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.9092 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.9092. EXPULSION OF CERTAIN STUDENTS CONNECTED WITH
CORRUPT FOREIGN ACTIVITIES. The governing board of an institution
of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003, shall, at least
twice each year, consult the secretary of state's annual report of
corrupt foreign actors published under Chapter 795, Government
Code, and immediately expel any student who is identified in the
report.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.