SB 1741 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to measures to prevent foreign influence, foreign interference, and intellectual property theft at public institutions of higher education.

SB 1741 requires all Texas public universities to report foreign funding received from entities outside the U.S. annually, beginning September 2024. It prohibits institutions from accepting gifts, grants, or donations from the Chinese government or entities controlled by it. The bill also mandates that all university researchers complete annual training on identifying espionage risks, protecting intellectual property, and reporting suspicious activity. Universities must establish internal systems for staff and students to report potential espionage or theft. These requirements apply directly to every public institution of higher education in Texas.

Issues: ✓ Technology

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 27, 2025 Last action Apr 22, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · Apr 3, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was substantially rewritten to broaden its scope from preventing espionage and intellectual property theft to also addressing foreign influence and foreign interference. The definitions were updated to include 'foreign adversary' and 'foreign government' to clarify prohibited entities. Training requirements were expanded to include faculty, staff, and students with access to sensitive information, not just researchers. The effective date was delayed from September 1, 2023 to September 1, 2025, and the initial reporting deadline was extended from September 1, 2024 to September 1, 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from focusing solely on espionage and intellectual property theft to also include prevention of foreign influence and foreign interference at public institutions of higher education.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'foreign adversary' and 'foreign government' to clarify which entities are prohibited from receiving gifts or grants.

REQUIREMENT

Training requirements were expanded to include faculty, staff, and student employees with access to sensitive or export-controlled information, not just researchers.

Added a requirement that institutions prohibit unsupervised access to sensitive information for individuals who have not completed the required training.

Training content was updated to include instruction on foreign influence and foreign interference in addition to espionage and intellectual property theft.

TIMELINE

The effective date was changed from September 1, 2023 to September 1, 2025, and the initial reporting deadline was moved from September 1, 2024 to September 1, 2026.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 22, 2025

Committee

Referred to Higher Education

lower

Apr 22, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

Apr 7, 2025

Introduced

Received from the Senate

lower

Apr 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee report printed and distributed

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably as substituted

upper

Mar 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

Vote taken in committee

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

Left pending in committee

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

Testimony taken in committee

upper

Mar 13, 2025

Committee

Referred to Education K-16

upper

Mar 13, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

6 primary · 2 co-sponsors