Industry group raises alarm anti-Chinese investment law could curb Florida growth

New legislation that went into effect July 1 seeking to curb the influence of the Chinese government on Florida’s affairs could hurt the state’s economy, the state is being advised.

The Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) is warning the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) of “unintended consequences” that may result from legislation restricting the land-owning rights of people from China.

Lawsuits are already pending against legislation (SB 264) that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law in May. Four Chinese people and a real estate brokerage that serves Chinese clients are in federal court seeking an injunction against the law and the suit is backed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The legal case contends the restrictions violate constitutional rights and the Fair Housing Act. Now comes AIF,  which bills itself as “the voice of Florida business” warning the DBPR against a broad interpretation of the law.

This law might keep publicly traded companies with only minimal financial backing from the People’s Republic of China from investing in the state, according to a letter from AIF’s leader.

“The technical language of SB 264 is much broader in scope than the publicly stated intent of the law, which could have unintended and negative consequences for investment in Florida and therefore limit the freedom of Florida’s future growth,” AIF President and CEO Brewster Bevis wrote in a Monday letter to DBPR Secretary Melanie Griffin.

The DBPR communications team said the rules for implementing the law will come through the Florida Real Estate Commission and did not comment on the specific content of Bevis’ letter.

The letter says even U.S. real estate funds could be excluded from investing in the state’s most valuable product — square footage under air conditioning — if they have 5% of the fund’s commitments from two passive Chinese Limited Partners (LPs).

LPs, the letter says, generally do not have the power to participate in the management or affairs of the fund that they are a part of and do not have the power to bind the fund or sign for it. That means they cannot control the operations, management or investment decisions of a fund when it comes to a fund’s day-to-day operations.

On the campaign trail Monday, DeSantis blasted the current situation in which “the Chinese Communist Party continued to eat this country’s lunch every single day.”

Sen. Jay Collins introduced the legislation that DeSantis backed, winning the support of some Democrats in both the House and the Senate.

“We will seek our economic independence from the Chinese Communist Party,” DeSantis declared in Rochester, N.H.

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Florida Politics writer A.G. Gancarski contributed to this report.