Texas’ Executive Order GA-48

Compliance with Texas’ Executive Order GA-48:
International Travel to Foreign Adversary Nations

On November 19, 2024, Texas Executive Order (EO) GA-48 “Relating to the hardening of state government” was issued. The EO implemented restrictions on institutional and personnel activities involving countries deemed foreign adversaries. Those countries are as follows:

  • China
  • Cuba
  • Hong Kong
  • Iran
  • Macau
  • North Korea
  • Russia
  • Venezuela

Prohibited Activities

  • UTA personnel (including faculty, staff, graduate assistants, and student workers) are prohibited from traveling to these countries for university-related business or professional activities. No exceptions apply. UTA personnel may not perform any professional activities related to UTA while physically located in these countries.
  • UTA personnel are prohibited from accepting gifts, regardless of value, from an entity associated with the countries listed above.
  • UTA is prohibited from awarding or signing contracts with any entity affiliated with one of the listed foreign adversaries
  • UTA is prohibited from participating in any foreign talent recruitment program by a foreign-adversary nation, such as the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) Thousand Talents Program

Personal Travel

EO GA-48 mandates that UTA personnel must report personal travel prior to traveling to these countries via the Pre-Travel Reporting Form or via email. Completion of a Pre-Travel Briefing prior to your departure is strongly recommended. To schedule a Pre-Travel Briefing, email Ms. Crystal Granados at crystal.granados@uta.edu after the submission of pre-travel forms.

Please note that layovers in these countries are also required to be reported.

EO GA-48 also mandates that a post-travel debrief questionnaire be completed within five days upon return.

Conferences

If attending a conference in a personal capacity, please note that the following is a non-exhaustive list of activities would generally be considered UTA-related business activities and are therefore not permissible:

  • Presenting or delivering a talk
  • Moderating sessions
  • Serving on panels
  • Networking on behalf of UTA
  • Recruiting students, employees, or collaborators on behalf of UTA
  • Representing UTA in any official faculty, staff, or institutional capacity
  • Engaging in any other activity that would reasonably be viewed as conducting university business

Layovers

Layovers in these countries are also prohibited for business travel. Layovers for personal travel must be reported via the same process as the personal travel to these foreign adversary countries.

UTA-Owned Equipment

When traveling to one of the listed foreign adversary countries, a loaner laptop or device should be used. You can request one via the ServiceNow Support Portal. If you have any questions, you can email TechnologyLoaner@uta.edu.