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Minutes for SB446 - Committee on Federal and State Affairs
Short Title
Prohibiting acquisitions of ownership interests in certain Kansas real property by foreign individuals and entities unless authorized by the state land council and establishing the state land council.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 7, 2024
Jason Long, Office of the Revisor of Statutes gave an overview of the bill. SB446 would generally prohibit anyone who is not a United States citizen or a permanent lawful resident of the United States from holding any interest in a parcel of real property that is at least three acres, unless approved by the State Land Council, which is created under the bill. The State Land Council would review potential violations of the Act and granting exemptions. The Council would consist of the Attorney General, the Adjutant General, the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigations. (Attachment 1)
After a period of questions and answers, the Chairman called for proponent testimony.
Proponent Oral Testimony
Kris Kobach, Kansas Attorney General, spoke as a proponent of the bill. He stated foreign land ownership in the United States doubled from 2009 to 2019, and because they are self reporting, the number of foreign nationals owning land is vastly under-reported. Right now, 35.2 million acres in the U.S. is foreign owned, which is about the size of Iowa. China's share is significantly growing, with Chinese landowners controlling approximately 383,000 acres of U.S. farmland. He stated their interest in owning U.S. land is to control a larger share of U.S. food production, being able to divert food to China, gaining economic leverage over the United States, and surveilling U.S. military installations and activities. Another concern is Mexican drug cartels, with 14 counties in Kansas being considered high drug trafficking areas. Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota have complete restrictions on foreign land ownership, with no exemptions, and Kansas is the only state in the breadbasket that has no restrictions on foreign land purchases. (Attachment 2)
Robert Stuart, Executive Officer, Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), spoke as a proponent of the bill. He stated there are many things that they are aware of that they cannot share with us that would shock us about what foreign adversaries are doing. With regard to drug trafficking, there are a great deal of land purchases by Mexico and Asia in Oklahoma, stemming from the legalization of medical marijuana. He said they are now also seeing side problems with ketamine and human trafficking stemming out of the marijuana growing operations in Oklahoma. (Attachment 3)
Charlotte O'Hara, Johnson County Commissioner, testified as a private citizen. She spoke as a proponent of the bill, stating Johnson County approved a $34 mil incentive package to Chinese owned company, CNano, without any vetting of the company or their ownership. The company built a 333,000 square foot facility next to the New Century Airport and military base. She said the FBI is in a daily battle with the Chinese Communist Party to top their state sponsored hacking into our critical infrastructure, and that economic development has blinded us to the dangers of these foreign entities. (Attachment 4)
John Anderson, private citizen, spoke as a proponent of the bill. He stated America is facing critical issues, and one of them, our food supply, is being facilitated by the purchase of farmland by foreign entities, much of which is near military facilities. He said 24 states have passed restrictive measures, the strongest of which he believes is Nebraska. He stated our enemies are committed to bringing America to its knees. (Attachment 5)
The conferees stood for a period of questions and answers.
Proponent Written Only Testimony
Brett Anderson, We the People Kansas (Attachment 6)
Kari Sue Vosburgh, We the People Kansas (Attachment 7)
Neutral Written Only Testimony
Randy Stookey, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (Attachment 8)
The Chairman called for opponent testimony.
Opponent Oral Testimony
John Donley, Kansas Farm Bureau, spoke as an opponent of the bill. He stated they are not opposed to measures that further our national security, but this bill flies in the face of private property rights. He stated the bill creates more government, and the issue would be better addressed at the federal level. (Attachment 9)
Aude Negrete, private citizen spoke as an opponent of the bill. She stated she is an immigrant, and that she recognizes the federal government needs to fix the immigration system. She said the bill doesn't address or take into account the many hard working immigrants and Latino business owners who are contributing to the Kansas economy. She said she deserves to live a happy and free life. (Attachment 10)
Aaron Popelka, Kansas Livestock Association spoke as an opponent of the bill. He stated that although they oppose the legislation, they would be open to legislation regarding foreign adversaries. He said the bill is likely unconstitutional with regard to treaties dealing with land ownership, and would result in interference with U.S. foreign affairs. He believes the matter should be left to Congress. (Attachment 11)
Alejandro Rangel-Lopez, New Frontiers, spoke as an opponent of the bill. He stated although the intent is good, the bill will do more harm than good. He said his parents bought their home in 2004, and that is the American Dream that drove his parents to come here in the first place. He said the bill would open the door to more discrimination, and is a far reaching mandate for the state land council to determine who is eligible for exemptions, which could lead to misuse of government power. (Attachment 12)
Josh Svaty, Kansas Power Alliance spoke as an opponent of the bill, replacing Kimberly Svaty, who was scheduled to testify. He stated there are many leases held by foreigners in Kansas, making nine figure investments in the state, and they will see it as significant regulatory risk if this bill goes into law. He spoke at length about foreign entities holding leases on land in Kansas, which are not affected by this law. He stated the law is much to broad, and includes ownership at any level, which creates confusion. (Attachment 13)
The conferees stood for a period of questions and answers.
Opponent Written Only Testimony
Katrina Abraham, The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce (Attachment 14)
Judith Ancel, President, Cross Border Network (Attachment 15)
Connie Brown Collins, Voter Rights Network of Wyandotte County (Attachment 16)
Cat Butler, private citizen (Attachment 17)
Angela Ferguson Allard, Austin and Ferguson, LLC (Attachment 18)
Scott Gigstad, President, Kansas Soybean Association (Attachment 19)
Jason Guo, private citizen (Attachment 20)
Kai Guo, private citizen (Attachment 21)
Rashane Hamby, ACLU (Attachment 22)
Karla Juarez, Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (Attachment 23)
Maria Kury, Wichita Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (Attachment 24)
Xing Liu, private citizen (Attachment 25)
Mel Marsh, private citizen (Attachment 26)
Tim McKee, Olathe Chamber of Commerce (Attachment 27)
Alex Orel, Kansas Bankers Association (Attachment 28)
Rabbi Moti Rieber, Kansas Interfaith Action (Attachment 29)
Ashley Sherard, Lenexa Chamber of Commerce (Attachment 30)
Jonathan Smith, private citizen (Attachment 31)
Eric Stafford, Kansas Chamber (Attachment 32)
Melissa Stiehler, Loud Light Civic Action (Attachment 33)
Mark Tomb, Kansas Association of Realtors (Attachment 34)
Angela Urbina, Wichita Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (Attachment 35)
Amanda Vega-Mavec, El Centro, Inc. (Attachment 36)
Kevin Walker, Overland Park Chamber of Commerce (Attachment 37)
Li Wang, private citizen (Attachment 38)
Wuchen Wang, private citizen (Attachment 39)
Taylor Williamson, Kansas Corn Growers Association (Attachment 40)
Natalie Wolf, private citizen (Attachment 41)
Emily Zhang, private citizen (Attachment 42)
After a period of questions and answers, the Chairman closed the hearing on SB446.
