Bill Text: TX HB127 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to measures to protect institutions of higher education from foreign adversaries and to the prosecution of the criminal offense of theft of trade secrets; increasing a criminal penalty.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 43-1)

Status: (Passed) 2025-06-20 - Effective on 9/1/25 [HB127 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB127-Enrolled.html

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H.B. No. 127

AN ACT
relating to measures to protect institutions of higher education
from foreign adversaries and to the prosecution of the criminal
offense of theft of trade secrets; increasing a criminal 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 51.957 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.957. HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH SECURITY COUNCIL.
(a) In this section:
(1) "Council" means the Higher Education Research
Security Council established under this section.
(2) "Governing board," "institution of higher
education," "private or independent institution of higher
education," "public junior college," "public technical institute,"
and "university system" have the meanings assigned by Section
61.003.
(3) "Postsecondary educational institution" means an
institution of higher education, other than a public junior college
or public technical institute, or a private or independent tier one
research institution.
(4) "Private or independent tier one research
institution" means a private or independent institution of higher
education designated as R1: very high spending and doctorate
production in the 2025 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of
Higher Education published by the Indiana University Center for
Postsecondary Research.
(b) The Higher Education Research Security Council is
established to promote secure academic research at postsecondary
educational institutions while mitigating the risk of foreign
espionage and interference.
(c) The council is composed of the following members:
(1) one research security officer appointed by the
governing board of each university system;
(2) one additional research security officer
appointed by each governing board of a university system that
oversees one or more medical schools, as defined by Section 61.501,
if the governing board elects to make that additional appointment;
(3) one research security officer appointed by the
governing board of Texas Southern University; and
(4) one research security officer appointed by each
private or independent tier one research institution that elects to
participate in the council.
(d) A council member appointed under Subsection (c)(2) or
(4) serves as a nonvoting member.
(e) A council member serves at the will of the person who
appointed the member.
(f) A vacancy on the council shall be filled in the same
manner as the original appointment.
(g) The council member appointed under Subsection (c)(1)
for The Texas A&M University System shall serve as the initial
presiding officer of the council.
(h) The council shall:
(1) identify best practices for a postsecondary
educational institution to:
(A) conduct research securely while mitigating
the threat of foreign espionage and interference; and
(B) vet and approve any gift to a postsecondary
educational institution from an individual who is a citizen of a
foreign adversary, as defined by Section 51B.001;
(2) develop a model research security policy that a
postsecondary educational institution may adopt to improve
research security;
(3) establish an accreditation process under which the
council may award a postsecondary educational institution an
accreditation for security excellence;
(4) promote attendance at the annual academic security
and counter exploitation program seminar offered by The Texas A&M
University System; and
(5) develop and offer an annual training program for
postsecondary educational institution research security officers
that includes:
(A) background and academic history checks of
researchers; and
(B) research security and integrity tools and
software that must be used to prevent the loss of intellectual
capital.
(i) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
provide administrative support to the council at the council's
request.
(j) The council shall meet at least once each quarter.
(k) A meeting conducted under Subsection (j) must be in
person or by video conference call, as determined by the presiding
officer.
(l) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the council shall prepare and submit to the governor, the attorney
general's office, and the presiding officer of each legislative
committee with primary jurisdiction over higher education a report
on the status of research security at postsecondary educational
institutions and any associated recommendations.
(m) Unless otherwise approved by the council for
dissemination to postsecondary educational institutions,
information produced by the council under Subsection (h) is
confidential and is not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552,
Government Code. A report submitted under Subsection (l) is
confidential and is not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552,
Government Code.
(n) The council may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
donations for purposes of this section but may not solicit or accept
a gift, grant, or donation from an entity or country:
(1) prohibited from participating in federal
contracts under Section 889, John S. McCain National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. No. 115-232);
(2) identified as a Chinese military company by the
United States Department of Defense in accordance with Section
1260H, William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116-283);
(3) owned by the government of a country designated as
a foreign adversary by the United States secretary of commerce
under 15 C.F.R. Section 791.4; or
(4) controlled by a governing or regulatory body
located in a country described by Subdivision (3).
SECTION 2. Subtitle A, Title 3, Education Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 51B to read as follows:
CHAPTER 51B. HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH AND PROTECTION
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 51B.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Company" has the meaning assigned by Section
117.001, Business & Commerce Code.
(2) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(3) "Council" means the Higher Education Research
Security Council established under Section 51.957.
(4) "Foreign adversary" means a country:
(A) identified by the United States 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 Section 108B, National Security Act of 1947 (50
U.S.C. Section 3043b); or
(B) designated by the governor after
consultation with the director of the Department of Public Safety.
(5) "Foreign government" means the government or an
agent of a country, nation, or group of nations, or a province or
other political subdivision of a country or nation, other than the
United States government.
(6) "Foreign source" means:
(A) a foreign government or agency of a foreign
government;
(B) a legal entity created solely under the laws
of a foreign adversary and having its principal place of business in
a foreign adversary;
(C) a partnership, association, organization, or
other combination of persons, or a subsidiary of such an entity,
organized under the laws of and having its principal place of
business in a foreign adversary;
(D) a political party of a foreign adversary; or
(E) an agent acting on behalf of an entity
described by Paragraph (A), (B), (C), or (D).
(7) "Gift" means any gift of money or property.
(8) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003, except that the term does not include a
public junior college or public technical institute as defined by
that section.
(9) "Political party" means an organization or
combination of individuals whose aim or purpose is, or who are
engaged in an activity devoted to, the establishment, control, or
acquisition of administration or control of a government, or the
furtherance or influencing of the political or public interest,
policies, or relations of a government.
Sec. 51B.002. RULES. The coordinating board shall adopt
rules necessary to implement this chapter.
SUBCHAPTER B. REQUIREMENTS FOR GIFTS FROM AND CONTRACTS WITH
FOREIGN ADVERSARIES AND CERTAIN COMPANIES
Sec. 51B.051. GIFT FROM FOREIGN ADVERSARY. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (c), an institution of higher education or
employee of an institution of higher education may not accept a gift
the institution or employee knows is directly or indirectly offered
from a foreign source of a foreign adversary unless the gift is of
de minimis value, as determined by coordinating board rule in
consultation with the council.
(b) An institution of higher education shall:
(1) include the prohibition described by Subsection
(a) in the institution's ethics policy; and
(2) create a mechanism by which an employee of the
institution may report being offered from a foreign source of a
foreign adversary a gift prohibited by Subsection (a).
(c) An institution of higher education may accept a gift of
more than de minimis value from a citizen of a foreign adversary
only if:
(1) the citizen is an individual;
(2) the institution uses the best practices adopted by
the council under Section 51.957(h)(1)(B) to vet and approve the
gift; and
(3) if the gift has a value of more than $25,000, the
gift is approved by the chief executive officer of the institution
and disclosed to the council at an interval established by the
council.
(d) A gift described by Subsection (c) is not subject to
disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, except as otherwise
required by federal or state law.
(e) Each institution of higher education that submits
reporting on foreign gift and contract disclosures to the United
States Department of Education required under Section 117, Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 1001 et seq.), shall submit
that reporting to the coordinating board at the time when the
institution is required to submit that reporting to the United
States Department of Education.
(f) Not later than December 1 of each year, the coordinating
board shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and
the speaker of the house of representatives a report detailing the
information submitted by institutions of higher education under
Subsection (e) for that year.
(g) Information required to be reported under this section
is not confidential except as otherwise provided by federal or
state law or unless protected as a trade secret by federal or state
law.
Sec. 51B.052. INVESTIGATION. (a) An institution of higher
education shall investigate an alleged violation of this subchapter
if the institution receives:
(1) a complaint from a compliance officer of a state
agency or the institution; or
(2) a sworn complaint based on substantive information
and reasonable belief.
(b) An institution of higher education may request from any
person records relevant to a reasonable suspicion of a violation of
this subchapter. A person who receives a request under this
subsection shall produce the records not later than the 10th
business day after the date the person receives the request, unless
the institution and the person agree to a later date.
SUBCHAPTER C. ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS AND STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS
Sec. 51B.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Academic partnership" means a written statement
of mutual interest in cultural exchange or academic or research
collaboration or a faculty or student exchange program, study
abroad program, matriculation program, recruiting program, or dual
degree program.
(2) "Benefit" and "student organization" have the
meanings assigned by Section 51.9315.
Sec. 51B.102. CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS
PROHIBITED. (a) An institution of higher education may not
participate in an academic partnership with a foreign source of a
foreign adversary, or an entity controlled by a foreign adversary,
that:
(1) constrains the institution's freedom of contract;
(2) allows the institution's curriculum or values to
be directed, controlled, or influenced by the foreign adversary; or
(3) promotes an agenda detrimental to the safety or
security of this state, the residents of this state, or the United
States.
(b) The council shall establish:
(1) best practices to be used by an institution of
higher education when entering into an academic partnership with a
foreign source of a foreign adversary; and
(2) a process by which an institution of higher
education annually shall certify to the council the institution's
compliance or noncompliance with the best practices established
under Subdivision (1).
(c) Not later than December 1 of each year, the council
shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the
speaker of the house of representatives a report identifying each
institution of higher education that did not certify the
institution's compliance with the best practices under Subsection
(b) in the 12 months preceding the date of the report.
Sec. 51B.103. PROHIBITIONS IN RELATION TO CERTAIN FOREIGN
INFLUENCE ON STUDENT ORGANIZATION. (a) A student organization at
an institution of higher education may not:
(1) accept a gift from a foreign adversary or an agent
of a foreign adversary; or
(2) enter into a contract or agreement with a foreign
adversary or an agent of a foreign adversary under which the student
organization receives financial support.
(b) Subsection (a) does not prohibit a student organization
at an institution of higher education from accepting member dues or
fees.
(c) Each student organization at an institution of higher
education annually shall certify to the institution the
organization's compliance with Subsection (a).
(d) Notwithstanding Section 51.9315, an institution of
higher education may not provide any benefit to a student
organization that violates this section. An institution of higher
education that determines a student organization has violated this
section shall terminate the organization's recognition or
registration, as applicable.
SUBCHAPTER D. SCREENING OF FOREIGN RESEARCHERS
Sec. 51B.151. SCREENING OF FOREIGN RESEARCHERS REQUIRED.
(a) Before offering a person employment for a research or
research-related support position at the institution or granting a
person access to research data or activities or other sensitive
data of the institution, an institution of higher education must
screen the person as provided by this subchapter if the person:
(1) is a citizen of a foreign country and is not a
permanent resident of the United States; or
(2) is affiliated with an institution or program, or
has at least one year of employment or training, in a foreign
adversary, other than employment or training by an agency of the
United States.
(b) A screening under this section must include a background
check to determine if the person has any ties to a foreign adversary
that would prevent the person from being able to maintain the
security or integrity of the institution of higher education and
research data or activities or other sensitive data of the
institution. The council may establish a risk-based framework for
the screening of a person under this subchapter, which may
prescribe low-risk circumstances under which the screening may be
waived.
(c) If an institution of higher education procures a third
party to conduct a background check under Subsection (b), the
institution may consult with the Department of Public Safety and
the council in determining whether the third party is qualified to
conduct a background check that meets the requirements of that
subsection.
(d) An institution of higher education may screen
additional persons as provided by this subchapter for a position
described by Subsection (a) at the institution's discretion.
(e) An institution of higher education may waive the
screening requirement under Subsection (a) for a person who
possesses an active United States government security clearance
issued by a federal agency.
Sec. 51B.152. EMPLOYMENT: REQUIRED MATERIALS. (a) An
institution of higher education must require a person subject to
screening under Section 51B.151 to submit to the institution:
(1) if the person is a citizen of a foreign country, a
copy of the person's passport and nonimmigrant visa application
most recently submitted to the United States Department of State;
and
(2) any additional information as determined by the
council.
(b) An institution of higher education may destroy or return
to a person subject to screening under Section 51B.151 the copy of
the person's nonimmigrant visa application submitted under
Subsection (a)(1) after extracting all information relevant to the
requirements of this subchapter.
Sec. 51B.153. RESEARCH SECURITY OFFICE. (a) The chief
administrative officer of an institution of higher education shall
establish a research security office to:
(1) review the materials submitted to the institution
by a person under Section 51B.152;
(2) take reasonable steps to verify the information in
the submission; and
(3) take any other action the office considers
appropriate.
(b) A research security office established under this
section may serve in an institutional or system-wide capacity.
(c) An institution of higher education may direct the
research security office to approve persons for hire using a
risk-based determination that considers the nature of the research
and the person's background and ongoing affiliations.
(d) An institution of higher education must complete the
requirements of this subchapter before:
(1) hiring a person described by Section 51B.151(a) in
a research or research-related support position; or
(2) granting the person access to research data or
activities or other sensitive data.
(e) An institution of higher education may not employ a
person subject to screening under Section 51B.151 in a research or
research-related support position if the person fails to disclose
in the submission a substantial educational, employment, or
research-related activity, publication, or presentation unless the
applicable department head or the department head's designee
certifies in writing the substance of the failure to disclose and
the reasons for disregarding that failure. A copy of the
certification must be kept in the investigative file of the
research security office.
(f) The research security office shall report to any law
enforcement agency designated by the governor or the institution of
higher education's governing board the identity of a person who is
rejected for employment based on the screening required by this
subchapter or other risk-based screening.
SUBCHAPTER E. FOREIGN TRAVEL
Sec. 51B.201. FOREIGN TRAVEL. (a) An institution of higher
education shall establish an international travel approval and
monitoring program.
(b) The program must establish a risk-based framework for
employment-related foreign travel approval, including health,
safety, and security factors.
(c) A research security office must preapprove certain
employment-related foreign travel according to the risk-based
framework established under the program. The preapproval must
require a traveling employee to review and acknowledge guidance
related to foreign adversaries or countries under sanctions or
other restrictions by this state or the United States government.
(d) A traveling employee must agree to comply with the
institution of higher education's limitation on travel and
activities abroad and all applicable federal laws.
Sec. 51B.202. MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS AND REPORT. (a) An
institution of higher education shall maintain for at least three
years, or any longer period of time required by applicable federal
or state law, records relating to employment-related foreign travel
to and activities involving a foreign adversary by a faculty
member, researcher, or research department staff member of the
institution, including:
(1) each foreign travel request and approval;
(2) expenses reimbursed by the institution for foreign
travel, including for travel, food, and lodging;
(3) payments and honoraria received during foreign
travel and activities, including for travel, food, and lodging;
(4) a statement of the purpose of each foreign travel;
and
(5) any record related to the foreign activity review.
(b) An institution of higher education shall annually
submit to the institution's governing board a report on
employment-related foreign travel by a faculty member, researcher,
or research department staff member of the institution to a foreign
adversary. The report must list each traveler, foreign location
visited, and foreign institution visited.
SUBCHAPTER F. FOREIGN ADVERSARY EDUCATION SOFTWARE
Sec. 51B.251. REVIEW OF EDUCATION SOFTWARE. (a) The
council, in coordination with the coordinating board, shall:
(1) conduct a thorough review of the use of testing,
tutoring, or other education software owned or controlled by a
foreign adversary or a company domiciled or headquartered in a
foreign adversary; and
(2) publish a list of prohibited software on the
coordinating board's Internet website.
(b) An institution of higher education may not enter into or
renew a contract to provide testing, tutoring, or other education
software included on the list published under Subsection (a)(2).
SUBCHAPTER G. ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 51B.301. ENFORCEMENT. (a) An institution of higher
education may not spend money appropriated to the institution for a
state fiscal year until the governing board of the institution
submits to the governor, the legislature, the coordinating board,
and the council a report certifying the governing board's
compliance with this chapter during the preceding state fiscal
year.
(b) In the interim between each regular session of the
legislature, the governing board of each institution of higher
education, or the board's designee, shall testify before the
standing legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over
higher education at a public hearing of the committee regarding the
board's compliance with this chapter.
(c) The state auditor shall periodically conduct a
compliance audit of each institution of higher education to
determine whether the institution has spent state money in
violation of this section. The state auditor shall adopt a schedule
by which the state auditor will conduct compliance audits under
this subsection. The schedule must ensure that each institution of
higher education is audited at least once every four years.
(d) If the state auditor determines pursuant to a compliance
audit conducted under Subsection (c) that an institution of higher
education has spent state money in violation of this section, the
institution:
(1) must cure the violation not later than the 180th
day after the date on which the determination is made; and
(2) if the institution fails to cure the violation
during the period described by Subdivision (1), is ineligible to
receive formula funding increases, institutional enhancements, or
exceptional items during the state fiscal biennium immediately
following the state fiscal biennium in which the determination is
made.
SECTION 3. Section 31.05(a), Penal Code, is amended by
adding Subdivisions (2-a), (2-b), and (2-c) to read as follows:
(2-a) "Foreign agent" means an officer, employee,
proxy, servant, delegate, or representative of a foreign
government.
(2-b) "Foreign government" has the meaning assigned by
Section 51B.001, Education Code.
(2-c) "Foreign instrumentality" means an agency,
bureau, ministry, component, institution, association, or legal,
commercial, or business organization, corporation, firm, or entity
that is substantially owned, controlled, sponsored, commanded,
managed, or dominated by a foreign government.
SECTION 4. Section 31.05(c), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if
it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person who
committed the offense intended to benefit a foreign agent, foreign
government, or foreign instrumentality.
SECTION 5. (a) Not later than October 1, 2025, the
appropriate entities shall designate the members of the Higher
Education Research Security Council established under Section
51.957, Education Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2026, the Higher Education
Research Security Council established under Section 51.957,
Education Code, as added by this Act, shall hold its initial
meeting.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
31.05, Penal 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 section, an offense
was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element
of the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 7. Section 51B.103, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year.
SECTION 8. Sections 51B.051, 51B.102(b), 51B.151, and
51B.152, Education Code, as added by this Act, apply beginning with
the academic year immediately following the adoption of standards
relating to those sections by the Higher Education Research
Security Council established under Section 51.957, Education Code,
as added by this Act.
SECTION 9. Section 51B.301(a), Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies beginning with money appropriated to a public
institution of higher education for the state fiscal year beginning
September 1, 2026.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 127 was passed by the House on May 15,
2025, by the following vote: Yeas 131, Nays 8, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 127 on May 30, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 130, Nays 4, 2
present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 127 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 29, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays
2.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor