Bill Text: TX HB2527 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to prohibiting lobbyists from representing certain aliens or foreign entities, providing a criminal penalty.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2025-03-17 - Referred to Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs [HB2527 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HB2527-Introduced.html
| By: King | H.B. No. 2527 | |
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| relating to prohibiting lobbyists from representing certain aliens | ||
| or foreign entities, providing a criminal penalty. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 305.002, Government Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 305.002 DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Administrative action" means rulemaking, licensing, or | ||
| any other matter that may be the subject of action by a state agency | ||
| or executive branch office, including a matter relating to the | ||
| purchase of products or services by the agency or office. The term | ||
| includes the proposal, consideration, or approval of the matter or | ||
| negotiations concerning the matter. | ||
| (2) "Communicates directly with" or any variation of the | ||
| phrase means contact in person or by telephone, telegraph, letter, | ||
| facsimile, electronic mail, or other electronic means of | ||
| communication. | ||
| (2-a) "Communicates directly with a member of the | ||
| legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or | ||
| administrative action" or any variation of the phrase includes | ||
| establishing goodwill with the member for the purpose of later | ||
| communicating with the member to influence legislation or | ||
| administrative action. | ||
| (3) "Compensation" means money, service, facility, or other | ||
| thing of value or financial benefit that is received or is to be | ||
| received in return for or in connection with services rendered or to | ||
| be rendered. | ||
| (4) "Member of the executive branch" means an officer, | ||
| officer-elect, candidate for, or employee of any state agency, | ||
| department, or office in the executive branch of state government. | ||
| (5) "Expenditure" means a payment, distribution, loan, | ||
| advance, reimbursement, deposit, or gift of money or any thing of | ||
| value and includes a contract, promise, or agreement, whether or | ||
| not legally enforceable, to make an expenditure. | ||
| (6) "Legislation" means: | ||
| (A) a bill, resolution, amendment, nomination, or other | ||
| matter pending in either house of the legislature; | ||
| (B) any matter that is or may be the subject of action by | ||
| either house or by a legislative committee, including the | ||
| introduction, consideration, passage, defeat, approval, or veto of | ||
| the matter; or | ||
| (C) any matter pending in a constitutional convention or | ||
| that may be the subject of action by a constitutional convention. | ||
| (7) "Member of the legislative branch" means a member, | ||
| member-elect, candidate for, or officer of the legislature or of a | ||
| legislative committee, or an employee of the legislature. | ||
| (8) "Person" means an individual, corporation, association, | ||
| firm, partnership, committee, club, organization, or group of | ||
| persons who are voluntarily acting in concert. | ||
| (9) "Registrant" means a person required to register under | ||
| Section 305.003. | ||
| (10) "Commission" means the Texas Ethics Commission. | ||
| (11) "Immediate family" means a spouse or dependent child. | ||
| (12) "Client" means a person or entity for which the | ||
| registrant is registered or is required to be registered. | ||
| (13) "Matter" means the subject matters for which a | ||
| registrant has been reimbursed, retained, or employed by a client | ||
| to communicate directly with a member of the legislative or | ||
| executive branch. | ||
| (14) "Person associated with the registrant" or "other | ||
| associated person" means a partner or other person professionally | ||
| associated with the registrant through a common business entity, | ||
| other than a client, that reimburses, retains, or employs the | ||
| registrant. | ||
| (15) "Designated country" means a country 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 each | ||
| 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). | ||
| (16) "Governing authority," "governing person," and | ||
| "organization" have the meanings assigned by Section 1.002, | ||
| Business Organizations Code. | ||
| SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 305, Government Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 305.030 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 305.030. PROHIBITED REPRESENTATION. A person required | ||
| to register pursuant to Section 305.003 may not knowingly or | ||
| willingly register on behalf of: | ||
| (1) a governmental entity of a designated country; | ||
| (2) an organization that is: | ||
| (A) headquartered in a designated country; | ||
| (B) directly or indirectly under the control of the | ||
| government of a designated country; or | ||
| (C) owned by or under the control of one or more | ||
| individuals who are domiciled in a designated country; | ||
| (3) an organization that is owned by or under the control of | ||
| an organization described by Subdivision (2); or | ||
| (4) an individual who is domiciled in a designated country. | ||
| Sec. 305.0301. ORGANIZATION UNDER CONTROL OF INDIVIDUAL OR | ||
| ANOTHER ORGANIZATION. (a) For purposes of this subchapter, an | ||
| organization is under the control of an individual or another | ||
| organization if the controlling individual or organization is | ||
| authorized to: | ||
| (1) direct the activities of the controlled | ||
| organization; | ||
| (2) make or direct others to make legal commitments on | ||
| behalf of the controlled organization; or | ||
| (3) hire and fire a principal decision maker of the | ||
| controlled organization. | ||
| (b) The authority of the controlling individual or | ||
| organization under Subsection (a) may derive from: | ||
| (1) exercise of a voting ownership interest of the | ||
| controlled organization sufficient to elect a governing person or | ||
| governing authority of the controlled organization to exercise on | ||
| the controlling individual's or organization's behalf the authority | ||
| described by Subsection (a); or | ||
| (2) a financial, legal, practical, contractual, or | ||
| other arrangement that functionally enables the controlling | ||
| individual or organization to exercise the authority described by | ||
| Subsection (a). | ||
| SECTION 3. Section 305.031(b), Government Code is | ||
| amended to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 305.031. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. (a) A person | ||
| commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly | ||
| violates a provision of this chapter other than Section 305.022 or | ||
| 305.028. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor. | ||
| (b) A person commits an offense if the person | ||
| intentionally or knowingly violates Section 305.022 or 305.030. An | ||
| offense under this subsection is a felony of the third degree. | ||
| (c) Repealed by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 249, Sec. | ||
| 4.12 and Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1322, Sec. 2. | ||
| (d) This chapter does not affect the criminal | ||
| responsibility of a person under the state laws relating to | ||
| perjury. | ||
| (e) This section does not prohibit the commission from | ||
| imposing a civil penalty for a violation. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. | ||
