Texas passed the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act. The measure, similar to that passed by other states such as Florida, prohibits citizens, businesses and governments of several foreign countries such as China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from entering into infrastructure agreements on Texas soil.
As reported by Just the News, it was Republican State Senator Lois Kolkhorst who introduced SB 147 with the intent to prohibit certain foreign governments and entities associated with them from purchasing land in Texas.
Texas, Florida and South Dakota
The Texas senator did so in the image and likeness of the order issued by Florida Gov, Ron DeSantis, in 2022. However, it is a more permissive standard, as it imposes fewer restrictions, and on a smaller number of countries. In addition to the four countries regulated by the Texas law, Florida also imposed restrictions on Cuba, Syria and Venezuela. The senator said in a press release that Texans are increasingly concerned about the fact that more and more land is being acquired by Chinese nationals:
The past several years have seen more Texans alarmed by the increased acquisition of land by primarily Chinese interests. 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.
Ley de Protección de Infraestructuras Lone Star aprobada por Texas by VozMedia on Scribd
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, announced on Dec. 13, that she was considering implementing a new law intended to veto farmland purchases by foreign entities, especially China. This is what she said in statements reported by ZeroHedge:
With this new process, we will be able to prevent nations who hate us—like Communist China—from buying up our state’s agricultural land. We cannot allow the Chinese Communist Party to continue to buy up our nation’s food supply, so South Dakota will lead the charge on this vital national security issue.
China has been acquiring land on U.S. soil for years
The bill, as explained by FOX News in August 2022, has arisen as a preemptive measure to the purchase of farms and land detected by Republicans as being Chinese owned on U.S. soil. A practice that, according to them, they have been carrying out for decades with the intention of owning American resources.
In fact, the media outlet explained, between 2010 and 2022, China increased its holdings on U.S. soil by nearly 2,500%, such that they encompassed more than 350,000 acres of U.S. soil. Acquisitions they had not only made in rural America, but had also managed to take control of food processing companies.
What's more, recalls Fox News, that in North Dakota, a Chinese company acquired 300 acres within a few miles of a U.S. Air Force base. A building that reportedly housed the most sophisticated U.S. military drone technology and was known as "the backbone of all U.S. military communications across the globe."
The alert, The Daily Signal reminds us, was raised by Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who claimed that the Chinese Communist Party was attempting to outmaneuver the nation both militarily and economically. And that they are doing it, by buying up land swathes of land in America:
The problem is, they’re just not trying to take us over militarily. They’re trying to also get real, real involved economically in our country. Over the last decade, China has increased the amount of farmland purchases by about an astronomical amount.
What does the measure consist of?
It was Tuberville who decided to put a stop to this and, along with Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton, introduced the Securing the Land of the United States from Foreign Interference Act. The purpose of this measure, explained The Daily Signal, was to prevent China from buying U.S. land on the grounds that doing so would pose a threat to national security.
For that reason, Tuberville said, it was important for the United States to work continuously, to prevent the Chinese Communist Party from gaining access to the nation's proprietary military and scientific research:
It’s important that we start closing the door on this because, we spend billions of dollars on research and development, and millions of taxpayer dollars, by the way, in some instances, and [the Chinese] don’t have to do that.
The Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act in Texas was born in the image of this measure. As explained by Just the News, the bill would prohibit certain foreign persons or entities from purchasing or acquiring real property titles in states that pass it.
This purchase veto would affect governmental entities, companies or other entities that are based in countries prohibited by each state or, that are directly or indirectly owned or controlled by the governments of those countries. In addition, it also includes ownership or a majority of the shares or other ownership interest owned or held by individuals who are citizens of these countries.
DeSantis claims that Chinese Communist Party was "gobbling up land"
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, was one of the first to activate a measure similar to the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act just passed by Texas. He did so in September 2022 when he issued an executive order in which, Just the News recalls, he prohibited government entities from purchasing technology products and services from companies headquartered, controlled or domiciled in China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia or Venezuela.
However, his main concern is primarily directed towards China. In fact, last week, the Daily Mail, reported that DeSantis had issued a threat to Chinese nationals interested in acquiring property in Florida:
We don't want to have holdings by hostile nations. If you look at the Chinese Communist Party, they've been very active throughout the Western Hemisphere in gobbling up land and investing in different things.
He further claimed that he was aware of the activities that the Chinese government was trying to carry out in Florida and, for that reason, stated that it was not in his state's best interest to have "the Chinese Communist Party owning farmland, or, owning land close to military bases."
