Texas lawmakers look at ownership of land by foreign entities
TEXAS - There's a lot of land in Texas that's up for sale and being developed. Some of it is owned by entities not from Texas.
The USDA tracks foreign land ownership. According to a recent report, 5.3 million acres in Texas are foreign-owned. In Central Texas, there's about 7,000 acres of agricultural land in Hays and Caldwell counties with ownership linked to China.
On Wednesday, members of the Special Select State House Committee on Securing Texas from Hostile Foreign Organizations were urged to address what was described as an evolving security risk.
"It's absolutely vital for the whole country that Texas moves to protect itself because you're a gateway for the rest of us," said Christopher Holton, with the Center for Security Policy.
This is the second attempt by state lawmakers to regulate foreign land ownership in Texas. In the last session, SB 147 cleared the Texas Senate. In a news release, it was noted the Bill went through several modifications before being sent to the Texas House.
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"SB 147 would apply to any nation identified by the federal government as a particular national security threat three years in a row. This would allow a country to fall off of the list if there is a regime change or other political change that degrades that threat to the US. Next, the bill was narrowed to only include certain types of land where foreign ownership could pose the greatest threat: agricultural, timber, oil and gas, and mineral-bearing lands. The bill would not apply to homesteads or to any lawful permanent resident in the US."
SB 147 failed to reach a floor vote in the House after concerns were raised it could result in acts of discrimination. That concern was brought up again during Wednesday’s hearing by State Rep. Angie Chen Button.
"And we want the audience out there to realize we are talking about homeland security. And that is the true purpose. It has nothing to do with discriminating, of any kind. And that was the confusing unintended consequence," said the Republican from Garland.
The committee was told the Chinese government owns almost 400,000 acres of land in the US. That information came with a warning. The potential threat from a hostile foreign country, according to security expert Brian Cavanaugh, is not just about who owns the real estate.
"So, on the surface, it looks like a normal business transaction. In the United States, they are buying Smithfield Foods, they're buying farmland, they're buying warehouses and other commercial-used land. But what you have to understand is at the end of the day, that's the Chinese Communist Party getting their foot in the door," said Cavanaugh.
The threat is about accessing critical technology. The big computer crash, caused by the recent CrowdStrike program update, was brought up during the Hearing, and it was noted a cyberattack could cause much more chaos.
Cavanaugh told the committee, hostile governments like China, Iran, North Korea and Russia have shifted their focus from Intellectual Property Theft to probing and hacking civilian targets. Recommendations for legislative reforms include a mandate for state agencies and local governments to do what’s called a cybersecurity stress test.
The review, according to Michael Lucci, with State Armor, should not be limited to water treatment plants and the power grid.
"Ending any technological dependence on companies that are controlled by the Chinese government. There are DNA sequencing companies where if a hospital in Texas is using those DNA sequencing technologies, your genome goes back to Beijing. There are alternative American and European providers for all these things. Any surveillance devices like laser surveillance devices and port cranes that are sourced from China are being used to survey Americans in Texas. Telecommunications equipment. So, taking a broad and deep approach to protecting critical infrastructure," said Lucci.
A GAO review, released earlier this year, recommended tighter oversight by federal authorities.
The House Select Committee is expected to have one or two more hearings before the Regular Session of the Texas Legislature begins in January.