Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Foreign Investment Land Ownership topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House Adopts Conference Report on SB 17, Tightening Limits on Foreign Ownership of Texas Real Property; Vote Draws Divisions
Summary
The Texas House approved the conference committee report on Senate Bill 17, restricting certain foreign ownership interests in Texas real property while allowing limited homestead purchases by lawfully present individuals; the measure passed 85–57 after heated floor exchanges over scope and exemptions.
The Texas House adopted the conference committee report on Senate Bill 17 on Wednesday, approving new restrictions on acquisition of certain real property by persons domiciled in designated foreign countries. The adoption passed on a recorded vote of 85 ayes and 57 nays.
Representative Heffner, explaining the conference report, said the final language restores a resident‑homestead exemption limited to lawfully present individuals and narrows the acreage associated with a homestead to 10 acres inside city limits and 20 acres outside city limits. He said the conference report “provides stronger protections for Texas land and natural resources” than either chamber’s prior version.
Representative Wu spoke against the conference report on the floor, calling attention to the measure’s remaining prohibitions. He warned the legislation could bar people from designated countries — including those here lawfully on visas — from owning interests in businesses or investments that hold Texas property and likened the approach to historical policies of exclusion. Wu urged members to vote no on the concurrence.
In floor colloquy after the vote, Representative Heffner and other members clarified aspects of the final language. Heffner said lawfully present individuals domiciled in a designated country may buy a residential property intended for their residence homestead but may not hold a controlling interest in real property or in entities that own property beyond the defined homestead acreage. He also described the conferees’ effort to adopt a familiar statutory definition of homestead acreage limits to avoid unintended wide readings.
Several members requested that portions of the back‑and‑forth and specific exchanges be reduced to the House Journal and placed in the record. The House granted those requests on the floor.
The conference committee report was adopted after floor debate and the recorded vote; with adoption, the statute language from the conference report will move toward final enrollment and signature steps.
