Gov. Greg Abbott and more than 60 Republicans in the Texas legislature are celebrating new laws that go into effect Sept. 1 that will protect Texans from foreign adversaries.
One of them, filed by state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, took several years to pass the legislature after multiple hearings and a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) campaign against it, in which reporting by The Center Square was highlighted.
This legislative session, under House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, the bill not only passed but additional measures were included targeting countries of foreign concern and their operatives as well members of transnational criminal organizations like Tren de Aragua (TdA). The Trump administration designated TdA and other TCOs as foreign terrorist organizations this year.
“This is very simple. Hostile foreign adversaries like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, as well as foreign terrorist organizations like Tren de Aragua, must not be allowed to own land in Texas,” Gov. Greg Abbott said, interrupted by a thunderous applause from lawmakers.
“They should not be allowed access to our critical infrastructure. They may not be allowed to exploit our border. Texans should not have to compete against foreign adversaries when it comes to buying Texas land.”
SB 17, filed by Kolkhorst, is “the strongest law in the United States to prohibit foreign adversaries from buying land in our state,” Abbott said at the ceremonial bill signing.
Kolkhorst said before it ever passed in the Senate two years ago, Abbott expressed support for it on social media, saying he would sign it. He reposted a story published by The Center Square, “And that started a lot,” Kolkhorst said. “It was quite a journey.”
Coordinated opposition on social media and protests organized by groups associated with the CCP labeled the bill as racist and a new “Chinese exclusion” law.
Seth Kaplan, a professorial lecturer at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview that he found Chinese-based platforms and its users appearing to engage in “CCP-sanctioned campaigns” to ban supporters of Kolkhorst’s bill, labeling supporters as “Chinese traitors” and reporting them as spies. One of the platforms identifies Kolkhorst, the governor and an article by The Center Square in its targeted campaign.
Two years later, a stronger bill passed the legislature, Kolkhorst said, because members made the “bill better along the way, every step of the way with amendments, with input.”
In response to the challenges she faced, she told The Center Square, “It certainly was a lot.
“And you brought some things to the light, and Governor Abbott was there from the beginning with that tweet,” remaining a steadfast supporter of the bill, she said. “Some of the reporting that some of you did that had investigative reporting was important.”
Of the process, she said, “It was hard. I’ve rarely seen that many protests. I mean organized protests against the bill, starting with Senate Bill 147 all the way through Senate Bill 17, House Bill 17, and then billboards and commercials, and like you said, the social media.
“There were a lot of brave people that came and testified for the bill that risked a lot,” she said, including people who left China and now live in Texas. “They stood up for what was right in making Texas and our nation” safer. “This is a national security bill.”
SB 17 prohibits the purchase of certain private property in Texas by governmental entities, companies and individuals that are domiciled in a country named in three recent Annual Threat Assessment reports published by the Director of National Security. It applies to agricultural, commercial, industrial and residential properties as well as mines, quarries, minerals and standing timber; it includes civil and criminal penalties.
HB 128, filed by state Rep. Angie Orr and Kolkhorst, prohibits sister-city agreements among state governmental entities and foreign adversary countries so they don’t unwittingly fall victim to CCP influence campaigns. It was filed after the Director of National Intelligence issued a report about People’s Republic of China (PRC) and CCP influence operations being carried out in the U.S. through “sister” relationships with localities, including in Texas identified as espionage and political warfare, the bill language says.
SB 1349, filed by state Sen. Bryan Hughes and state Rep. Janie Lopez, creates a criminal offense for transnational repression, “a form of political persecution carried out by foreign governments against” foreign nationals who live outside of their home country, the bill analysis says. It also requires new training for law enforcement.
The bills were passed with partisan support during the regular legislative session and become effective Sept. 1.
