Bill Text: TX SB307 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to the purchase of or acquisition of title to real property by certain aliens or foreign entities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-11-12 - Filed [SB307 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-SB307-Introduced.html
  89R5273 DRS-F
 
  By: Kolkhorst, et al. S.B. No. 307
 
 
 
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)  "Agricultural land" means land that is located in
  this state and that is suitable for:
                     (A)  use in production of plants and fruits grown
  for human or animal consumption, or plants grown for the production
  of fibers, floriculture, viticulture, horticulture, or planting
  seed; or
                     (B)  domestic or native farm or ranch animals kept
  for use or profit.
               (2)  "Designated country" means 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
  each of the three most recent Annual Threat Assessments of the U.S.
  Intelligence Community issued pursuant to Section 108B, National
  Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. Section 3043b).
               (3)  "Governing authority," "governing person," and
  "organization" have the meanings assigned by Section 1.002,
  Business Organizations Code.
               (4)  "Real property" means:
                     (A)  agricultural land;
                     (B)  an improvement located on agricultural land;
                     (C)  a mine or quarry;
                     (D)  a mineral in place; or
                     (E)  standing timber.
         Sec. 5.252.  ORGANIZATION UNDER CONTROL OF INDIVIDUAL OR
  ANOTHER ORGANIZATION. (a)  For purposes of this subchapter, an
  organization is under the control of an individual or another
  organization if the controlling individual or organization is
  authorized to:
               (1)  direct the activities of the controlled
  organization;
               (2)  make or direct others to make legal commitments on
  behalf of the controlled organization; or
               (3)  hire and fire a principal decision maker of the
  controlled organization.
         (b)  The authority of the controlling individual or
  organization under Subsection (a) may derive from:
               (1)  exercise of a voting ownership interest of the
  controlled organization sufficient to elect a governing person or
  governing authority of the controlled organization to exercise on
  the controlling individual's or organization's behalf the authority
  described by Subsection (a); or
               (2)  a financial, legal, practical, contractual, or
  other arrangement that functionally enables the controlling
  individual or organization to exercise the authority described by
  Subsection (a).
         Sec. 5.253.  EXCEPTIONS: UNITED STATES CITIZENS AND LAWFUL
  PERMANENT RESIDENTS; RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD PROPERTY; LEASEHOLD.
  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;
               (2)  an organization that is owned by or under the
  control of one or more individuals described by Subdivision (1);
               (3)  real property that is intended for use as an
  individual's residence homestead, as defined by Section 11.13(j),
  Tax Code; or
               (4)  a leasehold interest in land or improvements
  constructed on a leasehold if the duration of the interest is less
  than 100 years.
         Sec. 5.254.  PROHIBITION ON PURCHASE OF OR ACQUISITION OF
  TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY.  (a) In this section, "risk to the health,
  safety, and welfare of the public" includes a likelihood that an
  individual, organization, or governmental entity will engage in an
  act that:
               (1)  constitutes:
                     (A)  a violation of state or federal criminal law;
                     (B)  corporate espionage; or
                     (C)  a public nuisance; or 
               (2)  causes or threatens to cause bodily injury to a
  person, including the introduction of a dangerous disease or
  dangerous substance into an area.
         (b)  Except as provided by Section 5.253 and notwithstanding
  any other law, the following may not purchase or otherwise acquire
  title to real property in this state if the purchase of or
  acquisition of title to the property by the individual,
  organization, or governmental entity would create a risk to the
  health, safety, and welfare of the public:
               (1)  a governmental entity of a designated country; 
               (2)  an organization that is: 
                     (A)  headquartered in a designated country;
                     (B)  directly or indirectly under the control of
  the government of a designated country; or
                     (C)  owned by or under the control of one or more
  individuals who are domiciled in a designated country;
               (3)  an organization that is owned by or under the
  control of an organization described by Subdivision (2); or
               (4)  an individual who is domiciled in a designated
  country.
         Sec. 5.255.  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 governmental entity in violation of
  this subchapter creates a risk to the health, safety, and welfare of
  the public, as defined by Section 5.254, 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. 5.256.  ATTORNEY GENERAL INVESTIGATION AND DISCOVERY;
  SECRETARY OF STATE INTERROGATORIES AND RECORDS.  (a)  The attorney
  general may conduct discovery to investigate a potential action
  under Section 5.255 or in an action brought under Section 5.255,
  including by:
               (1)  petitioning for an order authorizing the taking of
  a deposition under Rule 202, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure; or
               (2)  if the attorney general has reason to believe that
  a person may be in possession, custody, or control of any
  documentary material or other evidence or may have any information
  relevant to an investigation of a suspected violation of Section
  5.254, issuing in writing and serving on the person a civil
  investigative demand requiring the person to:
                     (A)  produce any of the documentary material for
  inspection and copying;
                     (B)  answer in writing any written
  interrogatories;
                     (C)  give oral testimony; or
                     (D)  provide any combination of civil
  investigative demands under Paragraph (A), (B), or (C).
         (b)  The secretary of state shall on request by the attorney
  general:
               (1)  serve interrogatories on an individual or entity
  as necessary to determine the ownership or control of an
  organization that is the subject of an action by the attorney
  general under Section 5.255; and
               (2)  provide to the attorney general all records held
  by the secretary relating to the ownership or control of an
  organization that is the subject of an action by the attorney
  general under Section 5.255.
         Sec. 5.257.  APPOINTMENT OF RECEIVER. (a) If the district
  court finds that the real property subject to an action brought
  under Section 5.255 was purchased or otherwise acquired by an
  individual, organization, or governmental entity in violation of
  Section 5.254, the court shall enter an order that:
               (1)  states the court's finding; and
               (2)  appoints a receiver to:
                     (A)  manage and control the real property pending
  the sale or other disposition of the real property; and
                     (B)  return to the individual, organization, or
  governmental entity any proceeds of 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.  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 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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