BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

S.B. 2514

By: Hughes

Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

The bill sponsor has informed the committee that the federal Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has identified U.S. state and local governments as targets of influence operations conducted by foreign adversaries, such as the People's Republic of China. According to a 2022 bulletin prepared by the National Counterintelligence and Security Center and published by the ODNI, the government of the People's Republic of China seeks to influence U.S. policies and advance the geopolitical interests of the People's Republic of China at the state and local government level by collecting information on state and local leaders, targeting officials, exploiting partnerships, creating dependencies, and shaping policy through the business community. The bill sponsor has also informed the committee that foreign adversaries often conduct these influence operations at the subnational level to exploit the level of independence state and local leaders enjoy from the federal government. S.B. 2514 seeks to create protections against foreign adversary operations by providing for the creation of the hostile foreign adversaries unit in the Department of Public Safety, certain prohibitions and reporting requirements related to foreign influence, and additional training for state certified cybersecurity training programs.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly does one or more of the following: creates a criminal offense, increases the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or changes the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Public Safety Commission in SECTION 1 of this bill and to the Department of Information Resources in SECTION 5 of this bill.

 

ANALYSIS

 

S.B. 2514 amends the Government Code to provide for the creation of the hostile foreign adversaries unit in the Department of Public Safety (DPS), set out provisions relating to prohibitions and reporting requirements related to foreign influence, and establish additional certification requirements for state certified cybersecurity training programs.

 

Hostile Foreign Adversaries Unit

 

S.B. 2514 establishes the hostile foreign adversaries unit in DPS to support DPS's duty to prevent the harassment and coercion of Texas residents from foreign adversary operations, strengthen state agencies against foreign adversary operations, and protect the state's critical infrastructure against threats foreign adversary operations pose.

 

S.B. 2514 authorizes the public safety director of DPS to appoint unit employees as necessary to perform unit functions.

 

S.B. 2514 requires the unit, not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, to submit to the governor and the legislature a written report that assesses the threat foreign adversary operations posed to the state, including to Texas residents and governmental units of the state, during the preceding two years. The report must include the following:

·       an assessment of the incidence of foreign adversary operations conducted in Texas, including operations intended to influence political sentiment or public discourse; and

·       strategies that have proven effective to combat those foreign adversary operations.

The bill requires a state agency or a local law enforcement agency, on request by the unit, to provide to the unit information relating to any foreign adversary operation that the agency has researched or investigated or otherwise holds relevant information on.

 

S.B. 2514 requires the unit to do the following:

·       collaborate with local governments and federal agencies to operate the Texas Fusion Center; and

·       refer for prosecution to the appropriate prosecuting attorney cases in which individuals or organizations have engaged in or assisted in foreign adversary operations in Texas.

 

S.B. 2514 requires the unit to provide for the secure storage of sensitive information obtained or produced as part of the unit's biennial report developed under the bill's provisions. Information determined as sensitive under that requirement is not subject to disclosure under state public information law. The bill authorizes the unit, with the approval of the public safety director, to share the information determined sensitive with another federal, state, or local law enforcement agency. The bill establishes that the disclosure of information under that authorization is not a voluntary disclosure under applicable provisions of state public information law.

 

S.B. 2514 authorizes the Public Safety Commission to adopt rules to implement the bill's provisions relating to the hostile foreign adversaries unit. For purposes of these bill provisions, the bill defines "foreign adversary operation" as actions by adversarial foreign governments that threaten the state's safety and security.

 

Prohibitions and Reporting Requirements Related to Foreign Influence; Criminal Offense

 

S.B. 2514 prohibits an employee or volunteer of a state agency or a political subdivision of the state from doing the following:

·       accepting transportation to or lodging in a country that is a foreign adversary and that is paid for by the foreign adversary because of the employee's or volunteer's position with the state or political subdivision; or

·       accepting a gift or item of value from a person representing a foreign adversary for any purpose, including to pay for travel expenses or as reimbursement for the costs of attending a conference or other event in a country that is a foreign adversary or that is hosted on behalf of a foreign adversary or a principal of a foreign adversary.

 

S.B. 2514 requires an employee or volunteer of a state agency or a political subdivision of the state to report to the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC), in the form and manner the TEC requires, each interaction, communication, or meeting the employee or volunteer has with a person acting on behalf of a foreign adversary not later than the 30th day after the date of the interaction, communication, or meeting. The bill requires the TEC to make such a report available to the attorney general and DPS on request. These requirements apply to an interaction, communication, or meeting with a person acting on behalf of a foreign adversary that occurs on or after March 1, 2025. A person required to report an interaction, communication, or meeting under these bill provisions that occurred before the bill's effective date must make the report not later than the 30th day after the bill's effective date.

 

S.B. 2514 creates a state jail felony offense for a person who knowingly violates the bill's provisions relating to prohibitions and reporting requirements related to foreign influence. For purposes of those provisions, the bill defines "foreign adversary" as a country that is either:

·       identified by the U.S. Director of National Intelligence as a country that poses a risk to the national security of the United States in at least one of the three most recent Annual Threat Assessments of the U.S. Intelligence Community issued pursuant to the federal National Security Act of 1947; or

·       designated by the governor after consultation with the public safety director.

 

State Certified Cybersecurity Training Programs

 

S.B. 2514 requires a cybersecurity training program, in addition to the existing certification requirements under applicable provisions of the Information Resources Management Act, to include education on the following for purposes of becoming certified:

·       the threat of foreign adversaries and other hostile foreign actors, including the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and other coordinated foreign influence operations;

·       known efforts by foreign adversaries to target and influence subnational governments, including efforts made by the United Front Work Department;

·       identifying and recognizing suspected foreign influence operations;

·       informational resources promulgated by federal, state, and nongovernmental organizations on United Front Work Department activities in Texas and adjacent states; and

·       reporting to the TEC as required by the bill and to law enforcement agencies suspected foreign influence operations and other interactions with persons acting on behalf of a foreign adversary.

For these purposes, the bill defines "foreign adversary" by reference to the bill's provisions relating to prohibitions and reporting requirements relating to foreign influence. The bill requires the Department of Information Resources, not later than December 1, 2025, to adopt rules implementing these additional certification requirements. The bill's provisions providing for the additional certification requirements apply only to the certification of a cybersecurity training program that occurs on or after May 1, 2026. The certification of a cybersecurity training program that occurs before May 1, 2026, is governed by the law in effect on the date of the certification, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2025.