CHINA WATCHTexas Senate Passes Bill Limiting Farmland Sales to China, Other Countries
The Texas Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that limits the sale of Texas farmland to citizens and entities associated with China and several other countries. The amended bill is a dramatically watered-down version of an earlier proposal that sought to ban land and home purchases by citizens of China and three other countries.
The Texas Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that limits the sale of Texas farmland to citizens and entities associated with China and several other countries.
Senate Bill 147, sent to the Texas House on a 19-12 vote, restricts purchases of agricultural land, timberland and oil and gas rights by entities associated with any country that “poses a risk to the national security of the United States” — as designated by three consecutive annual threat assessment analyses by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The legislation also allows the Texas attorney general’s office to investigate potential violations and refer cases to courts for divestment proceedings if a “reasonable suspicion” arises that the buyer is associated with one of the designated countries.
The bill passed Wednesday was a significantly watered-down version of an earlier proposal that sought an outright ban on land sales to dual citizens and businesses associated with China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. SB 147 was softened after months of outcry from Asian American groups and others who said it would make it impossible for dual citizens and other immigrants to buy homes or start businesses.
Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, thanked Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, for narrowing her bill but said he could not support an effort that has encouraged racists and jeopardized the safety of Asians in Texas.
“Just the rhetoric surrounding this legislation is putting them in jeopardy from racists [from] bias. They’re being targeted as we talk,” Whitmire said.
“We can’t continue to single out ethnic groups and communities,” he said, adding that if it had been later in the session, he would “talk this bill to death” with a filibuster. “I feel that strongly.”
Kolkhorst said her bill was a measured response to a real security threat that other states have also moved to address.
“Senate Bill 147 is just about maintaining a strong Texas. It is not in any way picking out someone of a certain origin,” she said.
Prior to the Senate’s first vote on the bill Tuesday, Kolkhorst put forward several amendments that she said were aimed at those concerns while protecting national security, including new language that limits the restrictions to specific types of land and applies to purchases, not leases.
