New Rule Will Ban the CCP From Florida Land Purchases

(RightWing.org) – For years, China and other potentially hostile regimes have been buying huge parcels of American farmland. This has many legislators alarmed; it could threaten our food security and even defense installations. Now Florida’s legislature has decided to take action.

"[Florida] Senate Bill 264 just passed 38 to nothing," says @JayCollinsFL, the author of the Florida land purchase restriction bill on @EveningEdit. It now moves to the Florida House. https://t.co/vjwGnU6bWR pic.twitter.com/OaWbo3bsni

— Jimmy Quinn (@james_t_quinn) April 11, 2023

On April 11, the Florida State Senate unanimously passed SB 264, the Interests of Foreign Countries bill. This Republican-sponsored bill will enact a range of restrictions on countries its author, State Senator Jay Collins (R), says “don’t stand for what America believes.” The seven countries on the list include Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria, but the real target is China.

Collins says he was motivated to write the bill after he learned that China owns more than 350,000 acres of US farmland, and 5.7% of private land in Florida is owned by foreign investors. If his bill passes and is signed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R), it will be a lot harder for investors from the targeted countries to buy any more — and that goes double for China.

SB 264 will heavily restrict land purchases by any member of the Chinese Communist Party, by businesses that mainly operate in China, and by anyone resident in China that isn’t a US citizen. It will also ban the governments of all seven countries on the list from owning agricultural land in Florida or from buying any real estate within 20 miles of military bases or other critical infrastructure.

A day after the Senate passed SB 264, the Florida State House Appropriations Committee approved HB 1355, a bipartisan bill that imposes similar restrictions to its Senate counterpart. It now heads to the State Affairs Committee.

If this legislation becomes law, Florida will join Utah as one of the first states to act against China’s aggressive land acquisition. With several other state legislatures working on similar bills, it almost certainly won’t be the last.