US bill takes aim at state laws restricting property ownership by citizens from China and elsewhere
- Two Democrats in Congress offer legislation pre-empting any American state or territory that impedes property purchase based on one’s citizenship
- Proposed law would make it easier for individuals who claim harm ‘to prove standing in federal court’, says legal expert
Two Democratic members of the US Congress have introduced a federal bill that would pre-empt American state laws restricting property ownership by citizens from China and other countries considered “foreign adversaries”.
Offered in response to backlash against such laws, the bill is meant to address “real property discrimination” and pre-empts any US state or territory that “prohibits or otherwise restricts the purchase by an individual of real property … based on the citizenship of the purchaser”.
“Real property” is often defined as land, buildings, fixtures and all other improvements to land.
Green and Chu’s bill authorises the US attorney general to enforce the pre-emption, and says that individuals harmed by any such discriminatory state law may bring a civil action against the state and seek remedies.