HB1947 - Relating to civil and criminal liability for engaging in certain conduct involving a critical infrastructure facility; creating criminal offenses.

  89R4872 JRR-D     By: Luther H.B. No. 1947       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to civil and criminal liability for engaging in certain   conduct involving a critical infrastructure facility; creating   criminal offenses.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 424.001, Government Code, is amended to   read as follows:          Sec. 424.001.   DEFINITIONS   [ DEFINITION ].  In this   chapter :                 (1)  "Critical [ , "critical ] infrastructure facility"   has the meaning assigned by Section 423.0045(a)(1-a) and also   includes:                       (A)  [ (1) ]  any pipeline transporting oil or gas or   the products or constituents of oil or gas;                       (B)  [ (2) ]  a public or private airport depicted in   any current aeronautical chart published by the Federal Aviation   Administration;                       (C)  [ (3) ]  a military installation owned or   operated by or for the federal government, this state, or another   governmental entity;                       (D)     a semiconductor wafer manufacturing   facility; and                       (E)  [ (4) ]  a facility or pipeline described by   this section that is under construction and all equipment and   appurtenances used during that construction.                 (2)     "Semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility"   means a manufacturing facility that includes any of the following   processes with respect to semiconductor production:                       (A)  growing single-crystal ingots or boules;                       (B)  wafer slicing;                       (C)  etching and polishing;                       (D)  bonding;                       (E)  cleaning;                       (F)  epitaxial deposition; or                       (G)  metrology.          SECTION 2.  Section 424.051(a), Government Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (a)  A person commits an offense if, without the effective   consent of the owner, the person :                 (1)   enters or remains on or in a critical   infrastructure facility and intentionally or knowingly damages or   destroys the facility ; or                 (2)     intentionally or knowingly disturbs the physical   environment, including increasing ground or subterranean vibration   levels, within 15 miles of a critical infrastructure facility and   the disturbance damages or destroys the facility .          SECTION 3.  Section 424.052(a), Government Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (a)  A person commits an offense if, without the effective   consent of the owner, the person :                 (1)   enters or remains on or in a critical   infrastructure facility and intentionally or knowingly impairs or   interrupts the operation of the facility ; or                 (2)     intentionally or knowingly disturbs the physical   environment, including increasing ground or subterranean vibration   levels, within 15 miles of a critical infrastructure facility and   the disturbance impairs or interrupts the operation of the   facility .          SECTION 4.  Section 424.053(a), Government Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (a)  A person commits an offense if, without the effective   consent of the owner, the person :                 (1)   enters or remains on or in a critical   infrastructure facility with the intent to damage or destroy the   facility ; or                 (2)     disturbs the physical environment, including   increasing ground or subterranean vibration levels, within 15 miles   of a critical infrastructure facility with the intent to damage or   destroy the facility .          SECTION 5.  Section 424.054(a), Government Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (a)  A person commits an offense if, without the effective   consent of the owner, the person :                 (1)   enters or remains on or in a critical   infrastructure facility with the intent to impair or interrupt the   operation of the facility ; or                 (2)     disturbs the physical environment, including   increasing ground or subterranean vibration levels, within 15 miles   of a critical infrastructure facility with the intent to impair or   interrupt the operation of the facility .          SECTION 6.  Section 424.055, Government Code, is amended to   read as follows:          Sec. 424.055.  PUNISHMENT FOR CORPORATIONS AND   ASSOCIATIONS. Notwithstanding Section 12.51, Penal Code, a court   shall sentence a corporation or association adjudged guilty of an   offense under this subchapter to pay a fine not to exceed $1 billion   [ $500,000 ].          SECTION 7.  Section 424.102, Government Code, is amended to   read as follows:          Sec. 424.102.  CERTAIN ADDITIONAL LIABILITY. In addition to   any liability under Section 424.101, an organization that, acting   through an officer, director, or other person serving in a   managerial capacity, knowingly compensates a person for engaging in   conduct occurring on the premises of a critical infrastructure   facility , or for disturbing the physical environment within 15   miles of a critical infrastructure facility, is liable to the   property owner, as provided by this subchapter, for damages arising   from the conduct if the conduct constituted an offense under   Section 424.051, 424.052, 424.053, or 424.054.          SECTION 8.  (a)  The changes in law made by this Act to   Chapter 424, Government 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   subsection, an offense was committed before the effective date of   this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that   date.          (b)  The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 424,   Government Code, apply only to a cause of action that accrues on or   after the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that   accrues before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law   in effect on the date the cause of action accrued, and the former   law is continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.