2024

Federal and State Bills Restricting Property Ownership by Foreign Entities

Committee of 100’s ongoing effort to identify and monitor legislation that restricts property ownership by foreign governments, businesses, and people shows a continuing effort by state governments and Congress to limit the ability of such entities to own property in the U.S. (see our data of bills considered in 2023 here). 

So far, in 2024 (as of July 22) …

  • 151 bills restricting property ownership by foreign entities have been considered by 32 states (115 bills) and Congress (36 bills).
  • Of the 151 total bills, 71 are under currently consideration that would prohibit Chinese citizens from purchasing or owning property.
  • Of the 151 total bills, 12 passed and were signed into law in Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa (2 bills), Nebraska (2 bills), Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee (2 bills), and Utah, respectively.
  • Of the 12 bills passed so far, 7 prohibit Chinese citizens from purchasing or owning some form of property: Georgia’s SB 420, Indiana’s HB 1183, Nebraska’s LB 1301, Oklahoma’s SB 1705, South Dakota’s HB 1231, Tennessee’s HB 2553 and SB 2639

 

And since the beginning of 2023…

  • 241 bills restricting property ownership by foreign entities have been considered by 39 states (205 bills) and Congress (36 bills).
  • Of the 241 total bills, 194 have been under consideration that would prohibit Chinese citizens from purchasing or owning property; 174 bills have been considered by 38 states and 20 have been considered by Congress.
  • Of the 241 total bills, 29 passed and were signed into law in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa (2 bills), Idaho (2 bills), Indiana (2 bills), Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota (2 bills), Nebraska (2 bills), Oklahoma (2 bills), South Dakota, Tennessee (4 bills), Utah (2 bills), Virginia, (2 bills), and West Virginia.
  • Of the 29 bills passed so far, 11 prohibit Chinese citizens from purchasing or owning some form of property: Arkansas’ SB 383, Florida’s S 264, Georgia’s SB 420, Indiana’s HB 1183 and SB 477, Nebraska’s LB 1301, Oklahoma’s SB 1705, South Dakota’s HB 1231, Tennessee’s HB 2553 and SB 2639, and West Virginia’s SB 548.

 

Committee of 100 believes that passage of bills prohibiting property ownership by citizens of foreign countries would legitimize harmful and xenophobic claims about immigrants that would exacerbate rising anti-Asian violence that has negatively affected U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike. Should they take effect, these laws would also disproportionately affect a wide range of people of color living in the United States; most of the countries targeted in this legislation are majority non-white.

The interactive mapping tool below illustrates legislative activity in 2024 by state governments and Congress pertaining to restriction of property ownership by foreign citizens, businesses, and governments, especially those related to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).  Clicking a state (or “US,” which refers to federal legislation considered by the U.S. Congress) provides a detailed summary of all legislation considered by that state.  The tabs above the map allow users to view legislation that has passed or is currently under consideration in 2023.

The bills considered in 2024 include provisions that encompass a wide range of restrictions on an extensive variety of properties by a large array of foreign entities and their respective countries.  This mapping tool allows users to navigate across this legislative landscape by specifying the provisions they are interested in through the dropdown menus above the map entities, and the glossary below the map details the terms used in these provisions.  The following template illustrates the formula of restrictions specified in each bill: Some entity (e.g. governments, nonresident aliens) belonging to some country(ies) (e.g. all foreign countries, foreign adversaries, PRC) are restricted from having some interest (e.g. prohibited from owning, leasing, or are regulated in some other way) in some property (e.g. all real property, agricultural property, state land). 

 

Glossary of terms

Entity restricted from property ownership

  • Government: A country’s government and affiliated governmental entities, which includes entities that are sponsored, funded, controlled, or owned by the government.
  • Businesses: Businesses, companies, corporations, or other organizations that are headquartered in, or organized under the laws of, a foreign country.
  • Nonresident aliens: Individual citizens of foreign countries that are not permanent U.S. residents.
  • Resident aliens: Individual citizens of foreign countries that are permanent U.S. residents.

 

Countries restricted from property ownership

 

Restriction type

  • Ownership Prohibited: prohibition of purchase and/or ownership of property.
  • Rent/lease Prohibited: prohibition of rental and/or lease of property.
  • Regulation (Other): Various regulations that do not directly prohibit buying, owning, renting, or leasing property, including reporting, monitoring, conducting studies about, and increasing penalties for foreign property ownership.

 

Property type

  • All Property: All real estate and real property, sometimes including water rights and/or mineral rights belonging to the property.
  • Residential: Real property that is zoned as residential property.
  • Agriculture: Real property that is used for farming, ranching, or timber production, and/or zoned for agricultural use.
  • Commercial:  Real property used for business or commercial use, and/or zoned for such use.
  • State land: Real property owned by and/or under the control of a state.
  • Sensitive land: Real property located within a certain (and variable) distance of a military facility and/or critical infrastructure.

 

Committee of 100 would like to thank Micah Brown, Staff Attorney at The National Agricultural Law Center for his research that has greatly aided this project.  If you see anything incorrect on this page, or know of new bills that haven’t been included, please email Committee of 100 Research and Data Scientist Sam Collitt at scollitt@Committee100.org.

Similar Works