On July 1st, senate bill 264 will take effect. As written, the bill targets “foreign countries of concern” such as Russia, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and China. Foreign investors from these countries will be prohibited from purchasing agricultural land in Florida, as well as purchasing any real estate that is within 10 miles of military or critical infrastructure facilities.
Critical facilities refer to a broad swath of including chemical manufacturing plants, electrical power plants, water treatment plants, seaports, airports, and gas plants. Any sale of the aforementioned to nationals or business entities from these listed countries will be punishable by law.
Chinese nationals are specifically singled out as the law will make it a felony for Chinese citizens or companies to purchase property but for every other nation on the list, the crime will be recorded as a misdemeanor. This new law is in lockstep with Governor DeSantis’s ongoing stance on ‘foreign threats.’
“When you look at foreign threats, and you look at a country like China and their ambitions, one you’ve got to recognize the folly of prior American policies for the last generation,” said DeSantis in an address to the press. “A strong America abroad requires a strong America at home, and I think the elites in this country have ignored problems at home for far too long.”
After multiple protests, a group of Chinese citizens is suing Florida officials over the new law on the basis that it unfairly restricts foreign investment in Florida. There is concern among the Chinese community — both Chinese Nationals and Chinese Americans — that this legislation will not only make it difficult to purchase real estate but also further sour already increasingly torrid race relations.
In a press release, the American Civil Liberties Union lent its voice in support calling the new law a “misguided rationale unfairly equates Chinese people with the actions of their government, and there is no evidence of national security harm resulting from real estate ownership by Chinese people in Florida.”
