Sen. Lois W. Kolkhorst said while changes are made, the measure is needed to protect…
A Texas state senator said she’s modified a much-criticized measure that would prevent land purchases from people or organizations from four countries designated by the federal government as national security threats, including China.
The measure, Senate Bill 147, drew protests and criticism from some concerned it targets people of specific backgroundsfrom owning land in Texas. Critics lambasted the bill as too broad and said it had the potential for unintended consequences.
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst said Thursday she would submit a revamped bill that makes clear the prohibitions do not apply to American citizens and lawful permanent residents, including dual citizens. The bill also won’t include prohibiting real estate holdings that include homesteads, which she said would address concerns of people who’ve fled the authoritarian regimes and want to reside in Texas.
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“The goal of this bill is to legislate common-sense safeguards against Russian, North Korean, Chinese, and Iranian authoritarian regimes. It will not apply to those fleeing the tyranny of those governments who seek freedom in Texas,” she said in a statement. “The committee substitute makes important clarifications, so the law targets agents of these adversarial regimes while not harming innocent Texans in pursuit of the American dream.”
The original bill would have barred government entities, businesses and citizens from the four countries from buying land in Texas.
Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, had promised in late January to change the bill after outcry from lawmakers that included a Houston Democrat, state Rep. Gene Wu, who contended other measures in the Legislature would more narrowly prevent Chinese companies from buying agricultural land.
“What problem does that solve, other than make people who don’t like foreigners happy?” he said in a recent interview.
His office did not return a phone call Friday.
The focus of lawmakers, particularly Republicans, on China isn’t new.
Gov. Greg Abbott recently barred government agencies from putting the popular app TikTok on state computers or devices because its parent company is a Chinese entity. Concerns were raised that the communist government in Beijing could force TikTok to hand over information collected on Americans.
In Texas, Val Verde County landowners sought passage of the 2021 Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act. The state law prohibits entities from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from owning critical infrastructure in Texas, including power grids and telecommunications.
Kolkhorst, a co-author of the measure, said the Legislature passed it unanimously.
The law was a reaction to a decision by the state’s grid operator, ERCOT, to grant permission in 2015 to a Chinese industrialist, Sun Guangxin, to build a wind farm on property bought from ranchers. It drew concerns in part because the farm would have been near Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, home to Air Force undergraduate pilot training.
Guangxin sold the rights to develop the land to Greenalia, a Spanish renewable-energy company.
The U.S. military has 15 major installations across the state, including Fort Hood in Killeen, Fort Bliss in El Paso and several pilot training bases stretching from Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and NAS Kingsville. Three of the 15 installations — Joint Bases Randolph, Lackland and Fort Sam Houston — are in San Antonio. The Alamo City is home to the largest joint base in the United States, with all Air Force basic training conducted at JBSA-Lackland and Army, Navy and Air Force medic instruction done at Fort Sam.
Fort Sam is an historic Army post. It’s home to U.S. Army North and the Installation Management Command, which manages all Army posts worldwide, as well as Brooke Army Medical Center and state-of-the-art Center for the Intrepid rehabilitation facility.
“There’s 22 states in our nation that already have a prohibition on foreign-owned land. There are five others that have reporting requirements, so Texas is one of the few states that doesn’t have any of that,” Kolkhorst said.
“And if you look at the role that we play, I think if you live in San Antonio, whether it’s San Antonio or Killeen, we are a major player not just in military but with our deposits that we have in oil and gas, as well as what we have in rare-earth materials.
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Other provisions in her updated bill clarify the definition of real estate as land, an improvement, a mine or quarry, a mineral in place or standing timber. She said that makes clear the bill ensures food, energy and national security are protected.
Yet other elements of the bill specify that majority control of an entity means 50 percent or more voting control, and clarifies the enforcement mechanism “to preserve our cherished private property rights and constitutional freedoms,” reads a statement from her office.
Kolkhorst said the Legislature voted unanimously two years ago to prevent the same four countries from working on the state’s grid and infrastructure.
“This is a follow-up to that to make sure that we are airtight on protecting national security here in Texas with our military installations, with our natural resources of oil and gas and rare-earth materials as well as our coast,” Kolkhorst said.
sigc@express-news.net