A New Bill Would Regulate Foreign Country Land Ownership in Texas

(Austin, Texas) - Land ownership is something that a majority of Texans take a lot of pride in. Knowing that we own that piece of dirt, grass and trees is worth the taxes we pay on it. If you're one of those that has a piece of property that has been in the family for generations, that sense of pride is even further enhanced.

But what if I told you that not all of the land in Texas is owned by Texans or even Americans? Not all of it is and it'll surprise you how much is foreign owned. So our people in Austin are working on regulating that.

A New Bill to Regulate Foreign Country Land Ownership

I am proud to say that I am from a family that has a large piece of land that has been in the family for a couple of generations. That land is in Lindale and several of my cousins own their piece of the land and I am working on getting my own piece of it with my parents.

I was really surprised to learn about the amount of land in Texas, and even here in East Texas, that has been bought and is being used for various purposes by foreign countries. Yes, China is one of those countries. So is Mexico, England, Canada, Germany and others. So what is this land being used for? Some of it is for farming, some of it is for timber, some of it for personal use.

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The New Bill that Will Regulate Foreign Country Land Ownership in Texas

The thing about this foreign country land ownership is that it's not a new thing. The purchase of some of these properties goes back 50 years. These land purchases are in every county in Texas, including East Texas. Just going down the list alphabetically, in Anderson County...

• Lebanon
• Canada
• Egypt
• Venezuela
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• Sweden
• Netherlands

...own bits of land there. In total, it's about 47,000 acres of Anderson county land that is owned by a foreign county.

In Smith County, almost 2,300 acres is owned by three different countries. In Gregg County, two different countries own a total of 1,100 acres. In Cherokee County, it's about 90,000 acres owned by five different countries.

SB 17 Introduced to Help Regulate Foreign County Ownership of Land

Senate Bill 17 passed the Texas Senate on Wednesday, March 19, and is now in the house for a vote (KLTV). If passed, China, Iran, North Korea and Russia would be banned from buying land in Texas. Texas isn't alone in this struggle as 22 other states have passed similar legislation.

If you go to the website fsa.usda.gov, you will find a full spreadsheet of all the land in the United States owned by foreign countries. You can break that information down by state and by county which you can see HERE. You won't get an exact address of where the land is located but you will see what country and which corporation or individual owns it and how many acres.

Regulating Foreign Country Land Ownership in Texas

It's crazy to think that a foreign country can come in and buy a piece of property in an area outside of their country and not have to disclose exactly why and what the intentions of that land use are. Let's hope that more can be done with this or things can be more transparent.

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