Senate Moves Forward on Bill Criminalizing Deceptive Recording of Agricultural Operations

The Senate advanced third substitute House Bill 187, an agricultural-operation interference bill that would make it a crime for individuals to obtain access to farms, ranches or processing facilities under false pretenses with the intent to record images or sound.

Sponsor Senator Hankins said the bill defines agricultural operations and establishes penalties for those who obtain access by false pretenses or who seek employment for the purpose of covertly filming or recording the operation. He said the measure targets activists who seek to film operations surreptitiously and emphasized private-property and safety concerns. "This is basically a trespassing bill as much as anything," the sponsor said.

Senator Davis asked whether employees who encounter illegal or dangerous conditions would be deprived of whistleblower remedies. Hankins replied that the bill targets those who "hire on" under false pretenses to spy and that legitimate employees would retain protections — he specifically said whistleblower protections remain and advised contacting authorities such as the state veterinarian for animal-safety complaints. Senator Robles and others probed how the bill would interact with food-safety reporting and public-interest disclosures; the sponsor said the statute applies to access obtained under false pretenses and would not strip protections from actual employees.

After debate and questions, the Senate recorded the third substitute as having received 19 aye votes, 7 nay votes, and 3 absent; it was placed on the third-reading calendar.