Jacob Ogles
An effort in the Senate to loosen restrictions on Chinese nationals buying Florida real estate won’t reach fruition this year.
The Senate approved easements legislation (HB 799) passed by the House, and in turn dumped language allowing purchases by Chinese buyers under certain conditions. In the upper chamber, sponsors hoped the bill would serve as a vehicle to revise a China crackdown law passed last year.
Those efforts slowed after Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed the language as an attempt to “unwind” a national security law he signed and has touted across the country.
GOP Sen. Clay Yarborough, who sponsored the easements bill in the Senate, said real estate professionals have raised a number of concerns about unintended consequences of last year’s bill on land purchases.
“My goal was to address important concerns the business community has raised regarding the need to more clearly define a controlling interest versus a de minimis indirect interest,” Yarborough said.
That change earned support from business advocates like the Real Estate Roundtable and Associated Industries of Florida
But DeSantis has shown no appetite publicly for changing last year’s law.
“What we did has actually been a model,” DeSantis told Florida Politics.
Ultimately, the House never took up that language even as it otherwise brought the legislation on easement rights in line with the upper chamber.
Yarborough ultimately decided to take up the House bill rather than pressing the issue, though he did so over the objection of some colleagues in the Senate.
“We are literally creating headwinds in the real estate industry because of last year’s bill,” said Sen. Jason Pizzo, a North Miami Beach Democrat. “We’ve been asked in a very nonpartisan fashion by our constituents and professionals about clarifying some of the things from last year. Will the House not take our language?”
Yarborough noted the House did adopt some revisions of language on easement rights, but nothing on buyers from foreign countries of concern.
“The passed bill now only relates to easements as it did when SB 814 was originally filed,” Yarborough told Florida Politics.
The Senate ultimately passed the bill on a 34-5 vote.
4 comments
Outwitted, Underwater & Uninsurable Florida
March 7, 2024 at 1:33 am
The very idea you’ll outsmart the Chinese with a “law”. Imagine.
Bless Your Hearts.
Earl Pitts "Sage Political Expert Emeritas" American
March 7, 2024 at 7:07 am
Good Morn ‘Ting America,
This is quite disturbing.
Do you even know what this means?
EARL “WEIGHS IN”:
This means that the vast majority of Real Estate Agents want to sell out our “Sacred Florida Soil” to the “Dook 4 Brains Chinks”.
BUT SAGE EARL WHAT CAN WE AS MORTAL CITIZENS DO ABOUT IT?
I, Earl Pitts American, am glad you asked.
EARL “PREACHES ON”:
Since the majority of Florida Real Estate Agents” supported the “SELL-OUT TO THE CHINKS” then logically most RE Agents must be Dangerous “Dook 4 Brains Leftys” un-deserving of us Sage Majority Florida Patriots Business.
BUT EARL HOW THEN MAY SAGE FLORIDA PATRIOTS BYPASS THOSE EVIL DOOK RE AGENTS? DONT WE NEED THEM?
No, No you dont. Just get a Sage Attorney to oversee your entire Florida Real Estate Transaction from start to finish.
This will prevent the Chinks from putting on “HOT MALE HUNK STUD-MONKEY” Earl Pitts American Masks to fool the Sage Florida Patriots into dealing with back-stabbing Dook 4 Brains “SELL OUT TO THE CHINKS” Realtors from Selling Out Our Great State of Florida to the Evil Chinks.
*Remember Sage Patriots Its Not NEWS Untill EARL WEIGHS IN*
Thank you Sage Florida Patriots,
Earl Pitts American
rick whitaker's
March 7, 2024 at 5:55 pm
earl, i’d say that real soon your whole neighborhood will become known as “little chinatown where sphincter man lives”.
Dont Say FLA
March 7, 2024 at 7:53 am
Wasn’t this anti-China stuff all just for the purpose of Rhonda’s campaign bragging about how they are so tough on China?
That campaign was over before it even announced. Time to roll back all the laws enacted for campaign purposes.
You gotta roll all the campaign theme laws back. If you don’t roll them back, you can’t re-enact them for the next campaign!
And we all know the G0P is an avid bunch of re-enactors. Roll those laws back, fellas. That way you get to make big show re-enacting them in a couple years.
Comments are closed.