Senate Bill 17 would ban some people, companies and government entities from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from buying property in Texas.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House of Representatives has initially passed a bill that would restrict who could own land in Texas.
Senate Bill 17, authored by State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), would block people from designated nations that “pose national security threats” from purchasing land in Texas. It initially passed the Texas House on an 85-60 vote Thursday night.
“Senate Bill 17 is the strongest, most comprehensive and broad law in the nation that protects us from hostile foreign ownership of our land. We have an obligation to protect our people, our food supply, and our supply chain,” State Rep. Cole Hefner (R-Mt. Pleasant), who is carrying the bill in the House, said. “Senate Bill 17 is about securing Texas land and natural resources and making sure that this precious resource does not fall prey to adversarial nations and oppressive regimes that wish to do us harm.”
Supporters argue this is a matter of national security and protecting natural resources, but critics say SB 17 creates a slippery slope and targets immigrants and communities of color under the guise of national security.
The upper chamber passed Senate Bill 17 in April, but the version that advanced out of the Texas House Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs Committee and was debated on the House floor is different from what the Senate passed.
SB 17 would restrict people or entities from countries designated as national security threats from buying property in Texas. It would apply to governmental entities and organizations headquartered in or directly tied to those countries.
It bars “a citizen of a designated country and is domiciled outside of the United States,” or has “unlawfully entered the United States at a location other than a lawful port of entry,” from purchasing “real property.” That is a difference from the version the Senate passed, which was broader.
“Real property” includes agricultural land, commercial property, mines, quarries and industrial property. According to the USDA, around 5.7 million acres in Texas are foreign-owned, and China accounts for about 3.6% of that land.
The ban applies to countries based on the designations from the Director of National Intelligence. The latest annual threat assessment lists China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as countries “engaging in competitive behavior that directly threatens U.S. national security.”
Under the House version of the bill, the “designated country” has to be identified on “one of the three most recent” Annual Threat Assessments. That language is different from the Senate version, which required the country to be on “each of the three most recent” reports.
People and companies from countries on that list would be banned.
“Senate Bill 17 prohibits governments of designated countries and companies with direct ties to these countries from purchasing or acquiring property in our state,” Hefner said. “It also prohibits individuals who allied themselves with these hostile countries from purchasing property. Under this bill, an individual will be prohibited from purchasing property in our state if they continue to associate themselves with a country that is hostile to our interests.”
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are not affected. However, there cannot be any ownership connection to any prohibited person or governmental entity.
“Senate Bill 17 does not base a property acquisition prohibition on immutable characteristics, but rather on an entity or individual’s action or inaction to sever ties with oppressive regimes or their affiliations to those who wish to do us harm. This bill is carefully crafted to ensure that the rights of Texans and lawful permanent residents of the United States are not infringed,” Hefner said. “We have to be careful how we craft legislation when limiting those rights. Senate Bill 17 thoughtfully strikes a balance by exercising appropriate police powers reserved for the state within the bounds of the Texas and United States constitutions.”
The House removed a provision in the Senate version of the bill to allow foreign ownership of a residential homestead.
House Democratic Caucus leader, State Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston), who has been vocal in his opposition to the bill, questioned Hefner about what the bill would mean for visa holders, asylees and refugees, who are in the country legally but are not citizens or permanent residents.
“An individual who is domiciled in a designated country, who is domiciled somewhere else, that is, every single visa holder. People who have been here, people who are invited here to come work for UT, to be in the labs, to be teaching, to do all these different things, all of them are F-1 visa holders,” Wu said. “Many of them have been here for decades. They are domiciled legally in another country because, as a visa holder, you’re not allowed to say you are domiciled legally.”
State lawmakers tabled an amendment by State Rep. Rafael Anchía (D-Dallas) to add language covering visa holders into the bill.
“This law would restrict them from purchasing land because they are domiciled in another country and they have not had the time and the opportunity to undo that domicile because they have not had a chance to become a permanent resident,” Wu said. “Because they did not have a chance to become a citizen, yet they are now restricted from buying a home, a commercial property, a business, farmland, or even owning mineral interest or water interest.”
If the bill passes, the Texas Attorney General’s Office would enforce the law through court action. If a district judge finds evidence of an illegal purchase, an owner would have to divest.
There is concern among some Asian Americans who believe the bill is discriminatory and unconstitutional and paves the way for widespread racial profiling for visa holders, asylees and refugees.
Lily Trieu, Executive Director of Asian Texans for Justice, said it would lead to heightened scrutiny and unfair denials when owning or purchasing commercial, agricultural and investment properties.
“If I wanted to purchase a business here in Austin, a realtor will look at me and they’ll have to wonder if she’s actually a U.S. citizen? And then I will have to prove my citizenship,” Trieu said. “All this bill is going to do is sow havoc, create a lot of confusion, and people who legitimately are legally allowed to buy homes and businesses are now going to be fearful to do it. Realtors are going to be scared to sell, and it’s just going to create a system where everyone’s scared to make transactions simply because you’re Asian American.”
Wu said he feels like this is the first step on a march back toward the Japanese internment.
“Just like when this legislature passed these same laws 100 years ago, they did not list out Japanese Americans and Chinese Americans, they just said people who are ineligible for citizenship because the United States government only passed one law,” Wu said. “They banned two groups of people from becoming citizens. Chinese people and Japanese people. This bill is doing the same thing.”
Critics argue that the bill violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
“They’re putting up a target on the backs of people who look like me, so that our neighbors will look at us and now start to wonder, ‘Are they dangerous because of the way they look?'” Trieu said. “We don’t think this bill will address national security. It’s just going to lead to more hate and racism.”
In the 88th Legislative Session, Kolkhorst filed a similar bill, Senate Bill 147. One big difference is that it bans people and companies from specific countries from buying land. That bill passed the Senate but died in the House. Nearly two dozen other states have enacted similar legislation.
The lower chamber will still have to vote on the bill one more time before it can head back to the Senate. If that happens, the upper chamber would then consider the changes made by House lawmakers.