89R2308 DRS-F
By: Vasut H.B. No. 2752
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the purchase of or acquisition of title to real property
by certain aliens or foreign entities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 64.001(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A court of competent jurisdiction may appoint a
receiver:
(1) in an action by a vendor to vacate a fraudulent
purchase of property;
(2) in an action by a creditor to subject any property
or fund to the creditor's [his] claim;
(3) in an action between partners or others jointly
owning or interested in any property or fund;
(4) in an action by a mortgagee for the foreclosure of
the mortgage and sale of the mortgaged property;
(5) for a corporation that is insolvent, is in
imminent danger of insolvency, has been dissolved, or has forfeited
its corporate rights; [or]
(6) in an action by the attorney general under
Subchapter H, Chapter 5, Property Code; or
(7) in any other case in which a receiver may be
appointed under the rules of equity.
SECTION 2. Section 5.005, Property Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 5.005. ALIENS. Except as provided by Subchapter H, an
[An] alien has the same real and personal property rights as a
United States citizen.
SECTION 3. Chapter 5, Property Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter H to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H. PURCHASE OF OR ACQUISITION OF TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY
BY CERTAIN FOREIGN INDIVIDUALS OR ENTITIES
Sec. 5.251. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Control" means ownership of at least 50 percent
of the voting ownership interest of an organization necessary to
elect a governing person or governing authority of an organization.
(2) "Designated country" means:
(A) a country identified by the United States
Director of National Intelligence as a country that poses a risk to
the national security of the United States in an Annual Threat
Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community issued pursuant to
Section 108B, National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. Section
3043b) during the three-year period preceding the date of a
purchase or acquisition subject to this subchapter; or
(B) a country that at any time during the
three-year period preceding the date of a purchase or acquisition
subject to this subchapter has been:
(i) designated by the United States
secretary of state as a state sponsor of terrorism; or
(ii) subject to sanctions by the United
States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control
relating to the sale or transfer of arms, munitions, or technology.
(3) "Governing authority," "governing person," and
"organization" have the meanings assigned by Section 1.002,
Business Organizations Code.
(4) "Governing political party" means a political
organization any member of which occupies the highest executive
office of a country.
(5) "Real property" means:
(A) land;
(B) an improvement;
(C) a mine or quarry;
(D) a mineral in place; or
(E) standing timber.
Sec. 5.252. EXCEPTIONS: UNITED STATES CITIZENS AND LAWFUL
PERMANENT RESIDENTS; RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD PROPERTY. (a) This
subchapter does not apply to:
(1) an individual who is a citizen or lawful permanent
resident of the United States, including an individual who is a
citizen of a foreign country; or
(2) an organization that is owned by or under the
control of one or more individuals described by Subdivision (1).
(b) This subchapter does not apply to real property that is:
(1) intended for use as an individual's residence
homestead, as defined by Section 11.13(j), Tax Code; or
(2) owned by a governmental entity as a foreign
consulate or embassy of the entity as recognized by the United
States Department of State.
(c) This subchapter does not apply to a leasehold interest
in land or improvements constructed upon a leasehold.
Sec. 5.253. PROHIBITION ON PURCHASE OF OR ACQUISITION OF
TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY. Except as provided by Section 5.252 and
notwithstanding any other law, the following may not purchase or
otherwise acquire title to real property in this state:
(1) a governmental entity of a designated country;
(2) the governing political party of a designated
country;
(3) an organization that at any time during the
three-year period preceding the purchase or acquisition has been
designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States
secretary of state under 8 U.S.C. Section 1189;
(4) an individual that at any time during the
three-year period preceding the purchase or acquisition has been
subject to sanctions by the United States Department of the
Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control as a specially designated
national;
(5) an organization that is:
(A) under the control of the government or
governing political party of a designated country; or
(B) owned by or under the control of:
(i) one or more individuals who are elected
or appointed officials or employees of the government or members of
the governing political party of a designated country; or
(ii) an individual or organization
described by Subdivision (3) or (4);
(6) an organization that is owned by or under the
control of an organization described by Subdivision (5); or
(7) an individual who:
(A) is or at any time during the 10-year period
preceding the purchase or acquisition has been an elected or
appointed official or employee of the government or member of the
governing political party of a designated country;
(B) is related within the third degree by
consanguinity or within the second degree by affinity, as
determined under Chapter 573, Government Code, to an individual
described by this section; or
(C) is a citizen of a designated country and is
not lawfully present in the United States.
Sec. 5.254. ATTORNEY GENERAL ENFORCEMENT. If the attorney
general has a reasonable suspicion that the purchase of or
acquisition of title to real property in this state by an
individual, organization, or entity in violation of this subchapter
creates a risk to the health, safety, and welfare of the public, the
attorney general may bring an action to enforce this subchapter in a
district court in the county where all or part of the real property
that is the subject of the violation is located.
Sec. 5.255. DISCOVERY; SECRETARY OF STATE INTERROGATORIES
AND RECORDS. (a) The attorney general may conduct discovery in an
action brought under Section 5.254.
(b) The secretary of state shall on request by the attorney
general:
(1) serve interrogatories on an individual,
organization, or entity as necessary to determine the ownership or
control of an organization or entity that is the subject of an
action by the attorney general under Section 5.254; and
(2) provide to the attorney general all records held
by the secretary relating to the ownership or control of an
organization or entity that is the subject of an action by the
attorney general under Section 5.254.
Sec. 5.256. DIVESTITURE; APPOINTMENT OF RECEIVER. (a) If
the district court finds that the real property subject to an action
brought under Section 5.254 was purchased or otherwise acquired by
an individual, organization, or entity in violation of Section
5.253, the court shall enter an order that:
(1) states the court's finding;
(2) divests the individual's, organization's or
entity's interest in the real property; and
(3) appoints a receiver to manage and control the real
property pending the sale or other disposition of the real
property.
(b) On appointment and qualification, a receiver appointed
under this section has the powers and duties of a receiver under
Chapter 64, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the attorney general shall adopt rules for the
implementation of Subchapter H, Chapter 5, Property Code, as added
by this Act.
SECTION 5. 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 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.