Jesse Scheckner
Certain parts of the Sunshine State’s real estate market could soon be closed to the Chinese government, thanks to legislation from a pair of South Florida Democratic lawmakers.
Boynton Beach Sen. Lori Berman and Wellington Rep. Katherine Waldron filed twin bills (SB 924, HB 835) to ban the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and any connected entity from buying real property near military bases after July 1.
Property purchases close to “strategic assets” across the state — water treatment facilities, power plants, emergency operation centers, telecommunication towers and facilities, police stations and other such structures — would also be prohibited.
By mid-2021, the CCP and its partners held roughly 192,000 acres of American farmland worth $1.9 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Those figures have since risen to 200,000 acres and more than $2 billion, and some of that land is near military bases, a press note from Waldron’s Office said.
“This bill seeks to proactively protect our physical and strategic assets from being exploited or undermined by potential foreign adversaries,” she said in a statement.
Added Berman, “Passing this legislation is vital to countering the CCP’s troubling influence and unlawful surveillance.”
Berman and Waldron’s legislation would bar the CCP or any related entity from buying property within 50 miles of a military base or strategic asset anywhere in Florida. The measure would also prevent the CCP or a proxy from purchasing more than 50 acres of agricultural land within the state, including “any contiguous agricultural land that equals more than 50 acres in total.”
The bills, which both await committee hearings, complement an executive order President Joe Biden signed Sept. 15 defining additional national security factors the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. must consider when evaluating transactions.
Biden acted in response to growing, bipartisan concern among government officials over protecting Americans’ data, enhancing U.S. supply chain resilience and safeguarding the country’s position as a tech leader.
“The United States’ commitment to open investment is a cornerstone of our economic policy, benefits millions of American workers employed by foreign firms operating in the United States, and helps to maintain our economic and technological edge. However, the United States has long recognized that certain investments in the United States from foreign persons, particularly those from competitor or adversarial nations, can present risks to U.S. national security,” the executive order said.
Berman and Waldron’s measures also echo legislation Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Sen. Jay Collins and Rep. David Borrero — all Republicans — unveiled in December to restrict foreign control of the state’s agricultural and strategic military land.
Dubbed “Florida’s Strategic Land Plan,” the proposal would restrict the purchase, acquisition, lease or holding of controlling interest in agricultural land in the state by nonresident aliens, foreign businesses and corporations, or foreign governments.
Similarly, it would also bar land purchases near key military lands. As of 2020, 1.3 million acres of agricultural land in Florida were under foreign ownership.
“We have a responsibility to ensure Floridians have access to a safe, affordable and abundant food and water supply,” Simpson said at the time.
“Florida plays a critical role in our food supply chain and in the national security of the United States. China now controls nearly 200,000 acres of agricultural land in the U.S., leaving our food supply chain, our water quality and our national security interests vulnerable to the Chinese Communist Party. Restricting foreign control of Florida’s agricultural land and key strategic military land will protect our state, provide long-term stability and preserve economic freedom.”
