Rick Scott

Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026

This bill prohibits the importation, manufacture, sale, resale, or introduction into U.S. interstate commerce of connected vehicles and related software and hardware components associated with China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea.

Connected vehicle means a vehicle that (1) integrates onboard networked hardware with automotive software systems to communicate with any other network or device using certain methods (e.g., wireless spectrum connectivity); or (2) is designed, manufactured, or originally equipped to communicate via such methods, regardless of whether such capability is enabled, disabled, or removed at the time the vehicle enters the United States.

Current regulations administered by the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) prohibit transactions involving vehicle connectivity system hardware and covered software designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of China or Russia.

The bill expands the BIS regulatory framework, including by (1) expanding the countries covered by the prohibition to include China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea (Current BIS regulations apply only to China and Russia.); and (2) specifying that certain artificial intelligence components are covered by the prohibition.

By January 1, 2027, BIS must publish a list of items that are authorized for the importation, manufacture, sale, resale, or introduction into U.S. interstate commerce and would otherwise be subject to the bill's prohibition.

The bill also includes enforcement mechanisms, including that BIS must assess civil penalties for violations of the prohibition.

Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act of 2026

This bill establishes a new federal criminal offense for knowingly executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud an individual of veterans' benefits, or in connection with obtaining veteran's benefits for an individual. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both.

Save Our Shrimpers Act

This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to instruct U.S. leadership of international financial institutions (e.g., the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank) to oppose providing financial assistance for any project to support shrimp farming, shrimp processing, or the export of shrimp in a borrowing country.

Treasury may waive this requirement with respect to a project upon notifying Congress that the waiver is in the national interest of the United States.

The requirement expires seven years after the enactment of this bill.

Chip Security Act

This bill requires covered integrated circuit products (e.g., advanced computing chips) to incorporate certain security mechanisms.

Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Commerce to require any covered integrated circuit product to have chip security mechanisms that implement location verification before the product is exported, reexported, or in-country transferred to or in a foreign country.

Commerce must require any person that has received a license or other authorization under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to export, reexport, or in-country transfer a covered product to promptly report to Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security if the person obtains credible information that the product has been diverted away from its intended location or has been subjected to tampering.

Commerce must, in coordination with the Department of Defense (DOD), conduct an assessment and report to Congress on whether additional chip security mechanisms should be adopted. If Commerce determines additional security measures are necessary, then Commerce must require any covered product to include the secondary chip security mechanisms before the product is exported, reexported, or in-country transferred to or in a foreign country.

The bill authorizes Commerce to take certain enforcement actions, such as verifying the ownership and location of a covered product that has been exported, reexported, or in-country transferred to or in a foreign country.

Commerce must coordinate with DOD, within two years of the bill's enactment and annually thereafter for three years, to assess new chip security mechanisms and report to Congress.

Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2026 or the NO FAKES Act of 2026

This bill creates a federal intellectual property right to protect individuals from unauthorized digital replicas (e.g., digital content made using generative artificial intelligence) of their voice and visual likeness.

Specifically, the bill gives each individual or right holder the right to authorize (1) the use of a digital replica embodying the individual's voice or visual likeness, or (2) the use of the individual's voice or visual likeness for a product or service requiring authorization to avoid liability under the bill. This property right is not assignable during the individual’s lifetime but is licensable and does not expire upon the death of the individual.

Generally, any individual or entity that engages in specified prohibited activities (e.g., distributing a digital replica without authorization) shall be liable in a civil action and subject to related penalties. The bill exempts specified uses from liability, such as categories of conduct likely to involve protected speech under the First Amendment (e.g., news reporting, sports broadcasts, and satire).

The bill establishes (1) a notice-and-takedown process for unauthorized digital replicas; and (2) a counter-notification process, which allows an individual to contest the removal of a digital replica. The bill establishes penalties related to false or deceptive notice or counter-notice.

The bill expressly preempts state laws related to digital replicas except for causes of action under state statutes or common law in existence as of January 2, 2025.

Temperature Event Mitigation Policy Act or the TEMP Act

This bill directs the federal crop insurance program to provide for research and development regarding a temperature-based index policy to insure crops (including tomatoes, peppers, sugarcane, strawberries, melons, citrus, peaches, and blueberries) on a nationally-available basis against losses due to a frost or cold weather event.

The research and development must (1) evaluate the effectiveness of risk management tools with respect to low frequency and catastrophic loss weather events, and (2) result in a policy that provides protection for production loss or revenue loss.

The term policy means an insurance policy, plan of insurance, provision of a policy or plan of insurance, and related materials. Under an index policy, claim payments are generally triggered based on a predetermined index that is entirely independent of the individual farm operation (e.g., temperature level). Under such a policy, the payments are automatically triggered when the index reaches a certain level rather than when an insured farmer files a claim.