HB 127

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