Vasut Bill Bars Flagged Foreign Buyers, Exempts All Leases

The text as introduced · 1,375 words

89R2308 DRS-F

By: Vasut
H.B. No. 2752

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the purchase of or acquisition of title to real property

by certain aliens or foreign entities.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 64.001(a), Civil Practice and Remedies

Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A court of competent jurisdiction may appoint a

receiver:

(1) in an action by a vendor to vacate a fraudulent

purchase of property;

(2) in an action by a creditor to subject any property

or fund to the creditor's [ his ] claim;

(3) in an action between partners or others jointly

owning or interested in any property or fund;

(4) in an action by a mortgagee for the foreclosure of

the mortgage and sale of the mortgaged property;

(5) for a corporation that is insolvent, is in

imminent danger of insolvency, has been dissolved, or has forfeited

its corporate rights; [ or ]

(6) in an action by the attorney general under

Subchapter H, Chapter 5, Property Code; or

(7) in any other case in which a receiver may be

appointed under the rules of equity.

SECTION 2. Section 5.005, Property Code, is amended to read

as follows:

Sec. 5.005. ALIENS. Except as provided by Subchapter H, an

[ An ] alien has the same real and personal property rights as a

United States citizen.

SECTION 3. Chapter 5, Property Code, is amended by adding

Subchapter H to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER H. PURCHASE OF OR ACQUISITION OF TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY

BY CERTAIN FOREIGN INDIVIDUALS OR ENTITIES

Sec. 5.251. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Control" means ownership of at least 50 percent

of the voting ownership interest of an organization necessary to

elect a governing person or governing authority of an organization.

(2) "Designated country" means:

(A) a 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 an Annual Threat

Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community issued pursuant to

Section 108B, National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. Section

3043b) during the three-year period preceding the date of a

purchase or acquisition subject to this subchapter; or

(B) a country that at any time during the

three-year period preceding the date of a purchase or acquisition

subject to this subchapter has been:

(i) designated by the United States

secretary of state as a state sponsor of terrorism; or

(ii) subject to sanctions by the United

States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control

relating to the sale or transfer of arms, munitions, or technology.

(3) "Governing authority," "governing person," and

"organization" have the meanings assigned by Section 1.002,

Business Organizations Code.

(4) "Governing political party" means a political

organization any member of which occupies the highest executive

office of a country.

(5) "Real property" means:

(A) land;

(B) an improvement;

(C) a mine or quarry;

(D) a mineral in place; or

(E) standing timber.

Sec. 5.252. EXCEPTIONS: UNITED STATES CITIZENS AND LAWFUL

PERMANENT RESIDENTS; RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD PROPERTY. (a) This

subchapter does not apply to:

(1) an individual who is a citizen or lawful permanent

resident of the United States, including an individual who is a

citizen of a foreign country; or

(2) an organization that is owned by or under the

control of one or more individuals described by Subdivision (1).

(b) This subchapter does not apply to real property that is:

(1) intended for use as an individual's residence

homestead, as defined by Section 11.13(j), Tax Code; or

(2) owned by a governmental entity as a foreign

consulate or embassy of the entity as recognized by the United

States Department of State.

(c) This subchapter does not apply to a leasehold interest

in land or improvements constructed upon a leasehold.

Sec. 5.253. PROHIBITION ON PURCHASE OF OR ACQUISITION OF

TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY. Except as provided by Section 5.252 and

notwithstanding any other law, the following may not purchase or

otherwise acquire title to real property in this state:

(1) a governmental entity of a designated country;

(2) the governing political party of a designated

country;

(3) an organization that at any time during the

three-year period preceding the purchase or acquisition has been

designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States

secretary of state under 8 U.S.C. Section 1189;

(4) an individual that at any time during the

three-year period preceding the purchase or acquisition has been

subject to sanctions by the United States Department of the

Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control as a specially designated

national;

(5) an organization that is:

(A) under the control of the government or

governing political party of a designated country; or

(B) owned by or under the control of:

(i) one or more individuals who are elected

or appointed officials or employees of the government or members of

the governing political party of a designated country; or

(ii) an individual or organization

described by Subdivision (3) or (4);

(6) an organization that is owned by or under the

control of an organization described by Subdivision (5); or

(7) an individual who:

(A) is or at any time during the 10-year period

preceding the purchase or acquisition has been an elected or

appointed official or employee of the government or member of the

governing political party of a designated country;

(B) is related within the third degree by

consanguinity or within the second degree by affinity, as

determined under Chapter 573, Government Code, to an individual

described by this section; or

(C) is a citizen of a designated country and is

not lawfully present in the United States.

Sec. 5.254. ATTORNEY GENERAL ENFORCEMENT. If the attorney

general has a reasonable suspicion that the purchase of or

acquisition of title to real property in this state by an

individual, organization, or entity in violation of this subchapter

creates a risk to the health, safety, and welfare of the public, the

attorney general may bring an action to enforce this subchapter in a

district court in the county where all or part of the real property

that is the subject of the violation is located.

Sec. 5.255. DISCOVERY; SECRETARY OF STATE INTERROGATORIES

AND RECORDS. (a) The attorney general may conduct discovery in an

action brought under Section 5.254.

(b) The secretary of state shall on request by the attorney

general:

(1) serve interrogatories on an individual,

organization, or entity as necessary to determine the ownership or

control of an organization or entity that is the subject of an

action by the attorney general under Section 5.254; and

(2) provide to the attorney general all records held

by the secretary relating to the ownership or control of an

organization or entity that is the subject of an action by the

attorney general under Section 5.254.

Sec. 5.256. DIVESTITURE; APPOINTMENT OF RECEIVER. (a) If

the district court finds that the real property subject to an action

brought under Section 5.254 was purchased or otherwise acquired by

an individual, organization, or entity in violation of Section

5.253, the court shall enter an order that:

(1) states the court's finding;

(2) divests the individual's, organization's or

entity's interest in the real property; and

(3) appoints a receiver to manage and control the real

property pending the sale or other disposition of the real

property.

(b) On appointment and qualification, a receiver appointed

under this section has the powers and duties of a receiver under

Chapter 64, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date

of this Act, the attorney general shall adopt rules for the

implementation of Subchapter H, Chapter 5, Property Code, as added

by this Act.

SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

the purchase of or other acquisition of title to real property on or

after the effective date of this Act. The purchase of or other

acquisition of title to real property before the effective date of

this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the

effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for

that purpose.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.