The Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans’ Affairs committee will hear invited testimony July 30 on foreign-influenced money transmitters, gaps in foreign-agent disclosure, and remote-access technology embedded in Texas critical infrastructure.
- When: 10:00 AM CT, Thursday, July 30, 2026
- Where: Room E2.016, Capitol Extension, Austin
- Chair: Rep. Cole Hefner, R–Mount Pleasant (HD-5)
- Vice Chair: Rep. Ray Lopez, D–San Antonio (HD-125)
- Format: Invited testimony only; electronic public comment accepted on all three agenda items until the hearing adjourns; interim charges only — no vote on legislation
- Live video: house.texas.gov/video-audio
- Submit comments online: comments.house.texas.gov (c308)
- Full agenda: Official hearing notice (capitol.texas.gov)
The Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans’ Affairs will gavel in at 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 30, to take invited testimony on how foreign adversaries could exploit the state’s financial systems, advocacy networks and critical infrastructure — and whether Texas needs its own tools to detect and deter them.
Chaired by Rep. Cole Hefner, R-Mount Pleasant, the 11-member panel carries an 8-3 Republican majority and oversees the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas Military Department and the state’s veterans agencies. The three interim charges before it extend a national-security push that dominated the 2025 regular session, when lawmakers passed Senate Bill 17 restricting real-property purchases by individuals and entities tied to China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. Because the committee is meeting in the interim, it will take no vote on legislation.
The first charge, “Countering Foreign Financial Influence and Illicit Networks,” directs members to study the risks posed by foreign-controlled or foreign-influenced financial-service entities operating in Texas, expressly including money transmitters. Those businesses — the wire services and payment-instrument sellers that move funds across borders — are licensed and examined by the Texas Department of Banking under Chapter 152 of the Finance Code. The committee will weigh whether that oversight is enough to catch money laundering and illicit transfers linked to foreign adversaries or transnational criminal organizations.
The second charge, “Foreign Adversary Influence and Transparency Enforcement,” turns to influence operations — political activity, advocacy and funding networks directed by foreign governments. The notice asks members to examine gaps in federal registration and disclosure requirements, chiefly the U.S. Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act program, and to consider whether Texas should create state-level registration mandates, funding restrictions and enforceable penalties. It is a state analogue to the property-ownership limits the Legislature and Attorney General Ken Paxton have already pursued against designated foreign adversaries.
The third charge, “Protecting Texas Critical Infrastructure From Foreign Adversaries,” focuses on remote-access technologies embedded in critical systems that could enable cyber intrusion, surveillance or disruption. Texas has moved on this front before: the 2021 Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act barred companies from adversary nations from connecting to the state’s power, water and communications grids, and Gov. Greg Abbott followed with an executive order targeting Chinese Communist Party access. Members will consider whether additional safeguards and accountability measures are needed — a question also taken up by the new geopolitical-risk advisory panel created under House Bill 118.
The Department of Public Safety already runs a counterintelligence and security program aimed at foreign threats, and testimony is expected to draw on that work. Because the panel is meeting in the interim, it will take no vote; its findings will shape recommendations to the 90th Legislature, which convenes in January 2027.
Committee members
- Rep. Cole Hefner, R–Mount Pleasant (HD-5) — Chair
- Rep. Ray Lopez, D–San Antonio (HD-125) — Vice Chair
- Rep. Terry Canales, D–Edinburg (HD-40)
- Rep. Philip Cortez, D–San Antonio (HD-117)
- Rep. Mark Dorazio, R–San Antonio (HD-122)
- Rep. Hillary Hickland, R–Belton (HD-55)
- Rep. Janis Holt, R–Silsbee (HD-18)
- Rep. Carrie Isaac, R–Wimberley (HD-73)
- Rep. AJ Louderback, R–Victoria (HD-30)
- Rep. Don McLaughlin, R–Uvalde (HD-80)
- Rep. Katrina Pierson, R–Rockwall (HD-33)