BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	H.B. 1785
86R7028 BRG-D	By: Capriglione; Davis, Sarah (Huffman)
	State Affairs
	4/27/2019
	Engrossed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Concerns have been raised regarding the potential influence on the legislative process by individuals representing foreign governments and the difficulty of determining whether an individual has properly registered as a foreign agent as required by federal law. H.B. 1785 seeks to address these concerns by making such information about those individuals more transparent and easily accessible.

H.B. 1785 amends current law relating to the information required to be disclosed in a registration form for lobbyists.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 305.005, Government Code, by adding Subsection (l) to require the lobbyist registration form to include a statement of whether the registrant is or is required to be registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. Section 611 et seq.).

SECTION 2. Makes application of Section 305.005, Government Code, as amended by this Act, prospective.

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2019.