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Gov. Pillen Celebrates Passage of Bill to Protect Against Influence of Foreign Adversaries
LINCOLN, NE – Today, Governor Jim Pillen celebrated passage of LB644, brought on his behalf by Senator Eliot Bostar. During the news conference, the Governor signed ceremonial copies of the bill. He officially signed the legislation into law on June 4.
LB644 creates two new acts: the Foreign Adversary and Terrorist Agent Registration Act and the Crush Transnational Repression in Nebraska Act. Together, the acts are aimed at knowing who represents foreign adversaries within the state, curbing the information and/or data they may access or distribute, as well as providing protection against tactics that could be utilized by such organizations to cause undue influence or harm. Reporting requirements and penalties for violations are outlined within each Act.
“Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, Cuba and the Maduro regime in Venezuela are all designated as foreign adversaries by the U.S. Government,” said Gov. Pillen. “They do not have our best interests at heart and as a result, we need to take appropriate steps to make sure that as a state, we are protected.”
LB644 represents the latest of several executive and legislative actions that Gov. Pillen has authorized since taking office – all aimed at making sure state assets including infrastructure, land, technology and people are protected.
“In today’s world, the means of getting access, of getting information, and crippling our most critical systems is easier than ever, which is why we are highly focused on addressing these issues,” continued Gov. Pillen.
Lieutenant Governor Joe Kelly, who serves as the state’s director of homeland security, called attention to several of the executive orders and bills signed by Gov. Pillen over the two previous legislative sessions -- including LB683 and LB1301 -- both brought Sen. Bostar. Those bills, respectively, address the protection of communications equipment and prohibit companies from adversarial countries bidding on state and local procurement contracts.
“This year, primarily, the legislation is focused on guarding against foreign adversarial influence operations,” said Bostar. “We have some existing transparency requirements for those who would seek to influence policy in the state of Nebraska, but not enough. It doesn’t prohibit the circumvention of full transparency over interests that would be adversarial to the interests of Nebraskans.”
Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor, pointed to Nebraska’s leadership among other states when it comes to addressing national security issues.
“Resilience is the key topic for states to address -- being ready for potential conflict, being ready to counter political warfare -- this is a part of resilience,” noted Lucci.
State Armor works alongside states to identify solutions to global security issues and was founded following the introduction of LB683 in 2023.
“One of the first things when our organization was founded was to tell states, ‘do what Nebraska did.’ And we have not stopped conveying that message.”
Lucci commended Nebraska lawmakers on taking a bipartisan approach to legislation aimed at protecting the state and signaled it was the approach President Trump and other federal officials want to see.
Major General Craig Strong, adjutant general for the Nebraska National Guard and director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) remarked that in his dual role, homeland security was top of mind.
“Our adversaries can reach out at us through many different methods, and not just through the traditional, conventional munitions, but by way of cyber-attack, satellite imagery and other vectors that we have to be aware of, such as drones,” said MG Strong. “This bill clearly helps us maintain the level of awareness and readiness that are important elements of our state emergency response plans, particularly as it relates to Nebraska’s homeland defense.
Also attending today’s news conference and ceremonial bill signing were senators Beau Ballard, Barry DeKay and Brian Hardin.
Links to executive orders, legislation and letters signed by Gov. Pillen to protect the state against foreign adversaries can be found below.
https://governor.nebraska.gov/press/gov-pillen-joins-letter-calling-halt-foreign-land-grabs
https://governor.nebraska.gov/press/governor-pillen-senators-push-back-against-foreign-adversaries
https://governor.nebraska.gov/gov-pillen-signs-executive-order-banning-more-ccp-tech
