Bill Text: TX HB787 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Relating to the security of the electric grid.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 26-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-05-16 - Left pending in committee [HB787 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB787-Engrossed.html
| By: Parker, Price, Frullo, Fallon, Krause, | H.B. No. 787 | |
| et al. | ||
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| relating to the security of the electric grid. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. (a) In this section: | ||
| (1) "Critical infrastructure" means electric utility | ||
| facilities located in the ERCOT power region. The term does not | ||
| include power generation facilities. | ||
| (2) "Cybersecurity" means the activity, process, | ||
| ability, capability, or state where information and communication | ||
| systems and the information contained in those systems are | ||
| protected from and defended against damage, unauthorized use, | ||
| modification, or exploitation. | ||
| (3) "Electromagnetic pulse threat" means an | ||
| electromagnetic pulse caused by intentional means, including an act | ||
| of terrorism. | ||
| (4) "Electric utility" has the meaning assigned by | ||
| Section 31.002, Utilities Code. | ||
| (5) "ERCOT" has the meaning assigned by Section | ||
| 31.002, Utilities Code. | ||
| (6) "ERCOT organization" means the independent | ||
| organization certified under Section 39.151, Utilities Code, for | ||
| the ERCOT region. | ||
| (7) "Geomagnetic disturbance" means an event caused by | ||
| the interaction of a cloud of charged particles produced by the | ||
| sun's solar storms and the earth's magnetic field. | ||
| (b) The Electric Grid Security Advisory Committee is | ||
| created. The committee is composed of the following members: | ||
| (1) four members appointed by the governor to study | ||
| electromagnetic pulse threats; and | ||
| (2) four members appointed by the governor to study | ||
| cybersecurity. | ||
| (c) Each member of the committee must have professional | ||
| experience or technical training in: | ||
| (1) cybersecurity; | ||
| (2) electromagnetic interference; | ||
| (3) electric power generation or transmission; | ||
| (4) electromagnetic pulse hardening; | ||
| (5) physical security and controls; | ||
| (6) space physics and weather; | ||
| (7) supervisory controls and data acquisition; or | ||
| (8) emergency preparedness. | ||
| (d) The governor shall designate a member of the committee | ||
| to serve as presiding officer. | ||
| (e) The committee shall convene at the call of the presiding | ||
| officer. | ||
| (f) The committee shall study critical infrastructure and | ||
| its vulnerability to electromagnetic pulse, geomagnetic | ||
| disturbance, and cybersecurity threats. The study must: | ||
| (1) evaluate and summarize the current state of the | ||
| electric grid and associated computer systems and networks; | ||
| (2) consider and assess the likelihood of potential | ||
| security threats to the electric grid and associated computer | ||
| systems and networks; | ||
| (3) assess whether further efforts are needed to | ||
| secure the electric grid and associated computer systems and | ||
| networks against damage, including the threat of electromagnetic | ||
| pulse or other attacks and natural threats, including solar flares; | ||
| (4) recommend appropriate measures to secure the | ||
| electric grid and associated computer systems and networks, taking | ||
| into account the impact of the potential damage being addressed; | ||
| and | ||
| (5) recommend one or more strategies to protect and | ||
| prepare critical infrastructure in the ERCOT region against | ||
| relevant threats and present the estimated costs associated with | ||
| each strategy. | ||
| (g) The committee may use research and data on | ||
| electromagnetic pulse threats and cybersecurity gathered by the | ||
| United States Department of Defense, the United States Department | ||
| of Energy, the United States Department of Homeland Security, and | ||
| the Electric Power Research Institute. | ||
| (h) The committee may share its findings with any state | ||
| agency it considers important to the security of the electric grid | ||
| or associated computer systems or networks. To the extent allowed | ||
| by law, a state agency with which the committee shares information | ||
| is encouraged to implement any recommendations that the agency | ||
| determines will improve the security of the state's electric grid | ||
| or associated computer systems or networks. | ||
| (i) The ERCOT organization shall cooperate with the | ||
| committee to provide any information and resources the committee | ||
| considers important to the study. | ||
| (j) A member of the committee is not entitled to | ||
| compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for the member's | ||
| travel expenses as provided by Chapter 660, Government Code, and | ||
| the General Appropriations Act. | ||
| (k) A vacancy on the task force shall be filled for the | ||
| unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment. | ||
| (l) The committee is not subject to Chapter 2110, Government | ||
| Code. | ||
| (m) Not later than December 1, 2018, the committee shall | ||
| prepare a report of its findings, including any recommendations for | ||
| legislation resulting from the findings, and shall submit the | ||
| report to the governor. | ||
| (n) The committee's work relates to sensitive matters of | ||
| security. Notwithstanding any other law, the meetings, work, and | ||
| findings of the committee are not subject to the requirements of | ||
| Chapter 551 or 552, Government Code. Each member of the committee | ||
| shall sign a nondisclosure agreement stating that the member will | ||
| not disclose to the public any sensitive or identifiable | ||
| information related to grid security measures or plans. | ||
| (o) This section is not intended to penalize electric | ||
| providers in this state. If deficiencies in the security of the | ||
| electric grid in the ERCOT region are determined through the | ||
| process established in this section and the legislature, in | ||
| consultation with the governor, determines upgrades to the electric | ||
| grid are necessary, the legislature shall determine whether | ||
| upgrades will be funded by appropriating general revenue, through a | ||
| ratepayer cost recovery mechanism, or by a combination of those | ||
| methods. | ||
| (p) This section is not intended to prevent an electric | ||
| utility, municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative from | ||
| making prudent investments and reasonable and necessary | ||
| expenditures to secure the electric grid and seeking recovery of | ||
| associated costs as authorized by the Utilities Code. | ||
| (q) The committee is abolished and this section expires on | ||
| December 31, 2018. | ||
| SECTION 2. Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 39.917 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 39.917. INFORMATION RELATED TO GRID SECURITY. The | ||
| independent organization certified under Section 39.151 shall | ||
| collect and compile information related to the security of the | ||
| electric grid. The information is confidential and is not subject | ||
| to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code. | ||
| SECTION 3. The governor shall appoint members to the | ||
| Electric Grid Security Advisory Committee, as required by this Act, | ||
| as soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, but not | ||
| later than the 120th day after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2017. | ||
