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CS/CS/CS/HB 905 — Foreign Influence
by State Affairs Committee; Judiciary Committee; Government Operations Subcommittee; and Rep. Persons-Mulicka and others (CS/CS/SB 1178 by Appropriations Committee; Ethics and Elections Committee; and Senators Grall and Avila)
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Ethics and Elections Committee (EE)
The bill creates a “Foreign Influence Restriction and Enforcement Act” that is intended to reduce interference and influence by foreign countries of concern.
Related to public officers and employees, the bill:
- Increases the penalty for a public officer, agency employee, local government attorney, or candidate who violates restrictions on gifts if the gift received was from a designated foreign terrorist organization or foreign country of concern.
- Requires ethics training for specified public officials to include information on foreign countries of concern and their influence.
Related to cultural and educational programs, the bill:
- Prohibits the state protocol officer from encouraging a sister city or sister state affiliation with a foreign country of concern or its subdivision.
- Requires the Department of State to quarterly publish on its website specified information on all foreign consulate offices in Florida and all sister city and sister state affiliations.
- Revises provisions governing Florida linkage institutes to remove the Florida-China Institute from the list of authorized institutes, repeal the limited exemption for in-state tuition residency requirements, and prohibit a linkage institute from entering into an agreement or participate in activities with a foreign country of concern or any organization in such country.
Related to interactions with Cuba, the bill:
- Expands and creates a criminal penalty relating to the authorization for revocation of the business tax receipt of a person or entity doing business with Cuba in violation of federal law.
- Provides that if the federal government changes the diplomatic status of Cuba, the Governor may temporarily suspend the provisions of any statute or rule restricting interactions with Cuba.
The bill also:
- Expands the definition of “foreign source of concern” to also include a designated foreign terrorist organization or an agent acting on its behalf.
- Expands a prohibition against a state agency, political subdivision, or public school authorized to expend state-appropriated funds or levy ad valorem taxes participating in an agreement with or accepting a grant from a foreign country of concern to also prohibit such agreements with a subdivision of a foreign country of concern.
- Reclassifies criminal offenses committed for the purpose of benefiting, promoting, or furthering the interests of a foreign government, a designated foreign terrorist organization, or an agent of such government or organization.
- Prohibits a preplanned adoption agreement if the volunteer mother, intended father, or intended mother is a citizen or resident of a foreign country of concern, and prohibits a gestational surrogacy contract if any party to the contract is a citizen or resident of a foreign country of concern.
Vote: Senate 28-11; House 83-17