AUSTIN, Texas — On Wednesday, the Texas House Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs Committee heard testimony on a handful of bills related to relations with foreign entities, including one that would restrict some foreign land ownership in Texas. Critics packed the hearing room, calling it un-American and un-Texan.
Supporters argue this is a matter of national security and protecting natural resources, but critics say HB 17 creates a slippery slope and could impact Texans.
“HB 17 is modern-day discrimination. It is being passed under the guise of security, but it is not about protecting Texas,” Nabila Mansoor with Asian Texans for Justice said. “It is about targeting residents, legal residents, our doctors, our students, our neighbors, just because of the place they were born.”
House Bill 17 would restrict property ownership by people, companies and government entities from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. U.S. citizens and green card holders would be exempt.
“The purpose of House Bill 17 is to prohibit hostile foreign actors who intend to do us harm from owning land in our great state,” Rep. Cole Heffner (R-Mt. Pleasant) said. “This prohibition extends to hostile foreign governments, entities controlled by hostile foreign governments, and persons living in countries whose governments are hostile foreign adversaries.”
A similar bill, SB 17, passed the Senate on March 19.
“We’re working with Sen. Kolkhorst’s office and look forward to getting these bills together and hopefully getting a better product that we have by ourselves, and they have by themselves,” Hefner said. “We will come together and make a stronger piece of legislation.”
The list of countries considered foreign adversaries 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.”
‘Still wrong today’
“While this bill purports to be about national security by targeting individuals, what this bill does is resurrect the shameful legacy of alien land laws, the same racist policies that once banned Asian Americans from owning land in this country,” Mansoor said.
State Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston) said he is afraid because he feels like this is the first step on a march back toward the Japanese internment.
“These are the exact types of laws that were passed decades before the Japanese internment,” Wu said. “They were passed for the same reasons. They use the same rhetoric, the same arguments, and they are doing it to basically the same groups of people.”
“This is the dark legacy of our country, but we’re so eager and happy to revisit it,” Wu added. “We know that what we did in the past was wrong. What is wrong before is still wrong today.”
SB 17 makes it a state jail felony for individuals and substantial fines for companies for knowingly buying land while being domiciled in one of these countries. The Texas Attorney General’s Office would be in charge of enforcing the law if it passes.
“The mindset behind the criminal penalty is to create a deterrent. We don’t want these types of purchases to happen. We don’t want hostile adversaries or people who want to do us harm or own property in our state,” Hefner said. “We’ve seen discussions about commercial property, residential property and agricultural property, and for me, I don’t want them to own any property if they want to harm us.”
There is concern among some Asian Americans who believe the bill is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
“The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment requires the government to treat people as individuals, rather than classify them based on race or national origin,” Danny Woodward, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said. “HB 17 does that classification. It says you cannot buy land if you are from a certain country.”
Several business owners said they worry SB 17 and HB 17 will lead to heightened scrutiny and unfair denials when owning or purchasing commercial, agricultural and investment properties.
“We know closing on real estate deals is a risky and complicated process, and sellers will not want to go under contract with a buyer from one of the listed countries, or even a person they think is from one of the list of countries, because that law can blow up the deal and the impact is obvious,” Woodward said. “People from Asian Texans and Muslim Texans will pay higher prices for real estate because of this law.”
Some Democratic House members expressed concern about what they see as loose language in the bill. The bill would allow Gov. Greg Abbott, in consultation with the director of public safety and Homeland Security Council, to add or remove countries from the list of those designated as “countries of concern.” They believe that creates a slippery slope.
Other similar bills
Lawmakers also heard testimony on House Bill 34, which prohibits state investments in entities owned or controlled by these same “countries of concern.” In November, Abbott directed state agencies to divest their investment portfolios from China.
“We’ve seen that charter-based companies are often controlled by the Communist Party and operate to legally murky dictatorship companies that U.S. investors can’t fully on board enforce rights against,” Rep. Will Metcalf (R-Conroe said). “These are not just bad actors, they’re potentially liabilities.”
House Bill 133 would ban efforts by foreign governments or organizations to intimidate, silence or retaliate against individuals in Texas. It also criminalizes unauthorized surveillance and enforcement actions on behalf of foreign entities.
“That’s an attack on the fundamental rights that we all enjoy here in the United States,” Michael Lucci with State Armor said. “The substance of this bill is to protect the First Amendment, to punish with greater severity, agents of foreign adversaries that would attack the First Amendment rights of the First Amendment.”
Several firefighters and law enforcement officers showed up to speak about House Bill 41, which would prohibit governmental entities from acquiring or using unmanned aircraft, related equipment or services produced by companies owned, controlled or headquartered in China, Iran, North Korea, Russia or Syria. It mandates that any governmental entity using that equipment or services stop by Sept. 1, 2030.
“We talk a lot about possibilities … What I know is probable,” Eddie Saldivar with the Arlington Fire Department said. “It’s probable that tonight, tomorrow, there’s going to be a 5-year-old or an 8-year-old autistic kid that wanders off, and in the pouring rain, and somewhere in this state or this country, we’re going to need to go out and we’re going to need to bring them home, and the equipment that we pick is based on those needs.”
The bill establishes a Law Enforcement Secure Unmanned Aircraft Grant Program to provide grants to law enforcement agencies to replace prohibited equipment.
The Department of Information Resources would also have to create a plan to help agencies identify and eliminate security-risking telecommunication or video surveillance technologies.
Cpt. Eric Skinner with the the Fort Worth Police Department said the bill would remove critical tools from the department and make it harder for them to adapt to changing needs.
“I encourage you, when it comes to solutions, to take this grant money and incentivize businesses to compete. Let’s find incentives for American companies instead of an outright ban,” Skinner said. “There’s also other ways they can do firmware. We can have an American company develop a different firmware.”
In the last session, Sen. Kolkhorst filed a similar bill, Senate Bill 147. One big difference is it banned people and companies from specific countries from buying land. That bill passed the Senate and died in the House. Nearly two dozen other states have enacted similar legislation.
State lawmakers are still hearing testimony on the bill. If the committee passes it, it needs the full House’s approval before it can be sent to the Senate for consideration.