Texarkana Gazette
April 25, 2023
AUSTIN — Many citizens of China couldn’t own large properties in Texas under a bill the state Senate gave its initial approval to Tuesday.
The bill has been decried as racist and faced widespread condemnation from Asian American Texans, as well as residents from Iran, Russia and countries also targeted in the ban. Senators approved the proposal from Brenham Republican Lois Kolkhorst on party lines.
It would prohibit citizens of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from buying large swaths of land in Texas with some exceptions, using a threat assessment report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as the basis for the ban.