HB2385: State agencies; prohibited contracts, civil penalty.

Legislative Summary

Administration of state government; prohibited actions; civil penalty. Prohibits state agencies from entering into a contract for goods or services with a scrutinized company, defined in the bill as any company owned or operated by a foreign adversary, other than a company for which the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has determined that there are no unresolved national security concerns regarding the transaction that created such ownership or permitted such operation. The bill also requires any company that submits a bid or proposal to a state agency with respect to a contract for goods or services to certify in writing that it is not a scrutinized company and outlines the penalties for falsifying information in submitting such certification, including a civil penalty in an amount equal to the greater of $250,000 or twice the amount of the contract for which the bid or proposal was submitted. Finally, the bill prohibits any employee or agent of any executive branch agency or person or entity contracting with any such agency from downloading or using any application, including TikTok or WeChat, or accessing any website developed by ByteDance Ltd. or Tencent Holdings Ltd. (i) on any state-issued device or state-owned or state-leased equipment, including mobile phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, or other devices capable of connecting to the Internet, or (ii) while connected to any wired or wireless Internet network owned, operated, or maintained by the Commonwealth. Administration of state government; prohibited actions; civil penalty. Prohibits state agencies from entering into a contract for goods or services with a scrutinized company, defined in the bill as any company owned or operated by a foreign adversary, other than a company for which the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has determined that there are no unresolved national security concerns regarding the transaction that created such ownership or permitted such operation. The bill also requires any company that submits a bid or proposal to a state agency with respect to a contract for goods or services to certify in writing that it is not a scrutinized company and outlines the penalties for falsifying information in submitting such certification, including a civil penalty in an amount equal to the greater of $250,000 or twice the amount of the contract for which the bid or proposal was submitted. Finally, the bill prohibits any employee or agent of any executive branch agency or person or entity contracting with any such agency from downloading or using any application, including TikTok or WeChat, or accessing any website developed by ByteDance Ltd. or Tencent Holdings Ltd. (i) on any state-issued device or state-owned or state-leased equipment, including mobile phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, or other devices capable of connecting to the Internet, or (ii) while connected to any wired or wireless Internet network owned, operated, or maintained by the Commonwealth.