Attorney General Ken Paxton Proposes Stronger Rules to Protect Texas Land from Foreign Adversaries, Including China
Attorney General Ken Paxton will propose strengthened rules to implement and enforce Senate Bill 17 (89(R)), which restricts certain individuals and entities connected to designated foreign adversaries from purchasing or acquiring interests in Texas real property. The strengthened proposal builds upon the comprehensive rules previously proposed by the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”). Attorney General Paxton’s new rules add new safeguards designed to increase transparency, encourage reporting of potential violations, and better help Texans identify property owned by entities covered by the law.
The Texas Legislature passed SB 17 during the 89th Legislative session, and the law took effect on September 1, 2025. The statute restricts the purchase or acquisition of real property by certain individuals and entities from designated adversarial nations, including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea to mitigate national security risks.
The strengthened proposal leaves most of the OAG’s previously proposed rules in place while adding several important protections and clarifications. The new rules clarify that any person—not only individuals or entities facilitating real estate transactions—who believes they have information indicating a potential violation of the statute may submit a complaint to the OAG. The new rules would also provide protection for facilitating entities whose due diligence is based on regulatory guidelines or standards adopted in good faith by an industry group.
Additionally, under the updated rules, the OAG would develop a plan for an online portal containing a registry of Texas properties owned by entities that meet the definitions established by SB 17, including properties acquired before the law took effect. The registry would be modeled after the Texas Sex Offender Registry website and include similar mapping and search functions to provide Texans with greater transparency regarding covered foreign ownership of property across the state. The proposed rules would also create a mechanism for individuals to report pre-SB 17 property acquisitions to the OAG.
“Under my watch, communist China, Russia, Iran, or any other of our nation’s enemies or foreign nationals who threaten our national security will not be allowed to buy property in Texas,” said Attorney General Paxton. “My strengthened rules will increase transparency, empower Texans to report potential violations, and give my office additional tools to identify foreign land ownership and vigorously enforce the law.”
In addition to proposing stronger rules, Attorney General Paxton has also begun developing plans for a new OAG task force dedicated to uncovering and stopping foreign land sales in Texas.
The new rules will be proposed and available for review in the October 9th issue of the Texas Register.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
