2023S0068-1 01/27/23
By: Perry S.B. No. 711
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the purchase of or other acquisition of title to real
property by prohibited foreign actors.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5.005, Property Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 5.005. ALIENS. Except as provided by Section 5.0051,
an [An] alien has the same real and personal property rights as a
United States citizen.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 5, Property Code, is
amended by adding Section 5.0051 to read as follows:
Sec. 5.0051. FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OR ACQUISITION OF REAL
PROPERTY. (a) In this section:
(1) "Real property" has the meaning assigned by
Section 1.04(2), Tax Code.
(2) "Prohibited foreign actor" means an alien,
business, government, or an agent, trustee, or fiduciary of an
alien, business, or government from a country identified as a
country that poses a risk to the national security of the United
States in the most recent annual report on worldwide threats,
commonly known as the Annual Threat Assessment, issued by the
Director of National Intelligence pursuant to Section 108B,
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3043b).
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a prohibited foreign
actor may not purchase or otherwise acquire title to real property
in this state without written notification to the seller.
(c) A buyer required to provide written notification under
Subsection (b) shall do so as soon as reasonably possible, but not
later than 10 days before the closing of the property. The
notification shall specifically identify:
(1) whether the buyer is an alien, foreign business,
foreign government, or an agent, trustee, or fiduciary of an alien,
foreign business, or foreign government; and
(2) the buyer's country of citizenship or country of
creation or organization.
(d) Upon receipt of written notification described by
Subsection (c), a seller may choose to proceed with the sale of the
property or immediately revoke any promise to sell the property.
(e) A court shall dismiss any action brought against a
seller for revoking a promise to sell real property based on a
notification provided under Subsection (c), and no party shall
recover any damages in a suit against a seller if the seller revokes
a promise to sell based on notification provided under Subsection
(c).
(f) The Texas Real Estate Commission shall develop a form to
provide the written notification required by Subsection (c).
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
the purchase of or other acquisition of title to real property on or
after the effective date of this Act. The purchase of or other
acquisition of title to real property before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.