Many Texans already expect another special legislative session to be called by Gov. Greg Abbott sometime in the fall, and one state senator hopes that foreign land ownership in the state will be on the agenda.
SB 147, which was sponsored by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R–Brenham), was proposed in the most recent regular session. If enacted, it would have banned certain foreign nationals from purchasing land in Texas.
The buyers that would have been banned from purchasing land include any individuals or entities under the control associated with any “country identified by the United States Director of National Intelligence as a country that poses a risk to the national security of the United States in each of the three most recent Annual Threat Assessments of the U.S. Intelligence Community.”
Kolkhorst released a statement regarding the bill after it was initially filed in December 2022, stating that “the growing ownership of Texas land by some foreign entities is highly disturbing and raises red flags for many Texans.”
“By comparison, as an American go try to buy land near a Chinese military base and see how it works out for you. It would never happen there and it shouldn’t happen here. Passing this law delivers some basic safeguards to ensure Texans remain in control of Texas land,” she added.
The inclusion of China, along with Iran, North Korea, and Russia, prompted protests from the Chinese community throughout the state.
Activist Ling Luo raised concerns that the bill would diminish the Chinese community.
“Renting is not as great as the freedom of owning your own house. It’s everybody’s dream in the whole world,” she said, per NBC News.
Such concerns led Luo, along with other activists in the community, to organize a rally in Houston with signs that read “Stop Asian Hate” and “Stop Chinese Exclusion,” according to NBC.
SB 147 has also drawn criticism from elected officials such as Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston), who said, “There’s [sic] people who are asking if they need to get out of the state, like right now.”
“I have never seen the Chinese community this active and this motivated in my entire adult life. The community is inflamed right now. They are enraged,” he said, per NBC News.
Despite the criticism, Abbott took to X — the social media platform formerly known as Twitter — in January to say that the bill “follows a law I signed banning those countries from threatening our infrastructure.”
“I will sign it,” he added.
The bill passed the Senate in April but did not receive a hearing from the House State Affairs Committee. As a result, it died in the Texas House, according to the Texas Scorecard.
However, an unclassified Tenth Air Force document titled “The China Threat” alleges that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) created a wave of misinformation that contributed to the bill not failing to advance, reported The Epoch Times.
The document reportedly states that the social media site WeChat, which is allegedly controlled by the CCP, has over 1 billion users and is full of misinformation about SB 147.
When the Senate first held a hearing on the bill on March 2, multiple witnesses voiced their opposition.
“Simultaneously, the very same WeChat groups that are constantly flooded with pro-CCP and anti-democracy propaganda successfully mobilized over 100 opponents of the bill to attend the hearing as witnesses,” reads the document, according to The Epoch Times. The document claims that many of those who opposed the bill were “unlikely aware that they are aligned with the CCP on this issue.”
Kolkhorst said she hopes the bill is brought up in the upcoming special session.
“We cannot allow the CCP to control or influence the Texas Legislature or the people of Texas. We will not stand for this,” said Kolkhorst, per The Epoch Times.