Texas property ownership bill once dubbed 'Asian Exclusion' dead on arrival

A controversial bill that originally aimed to eradicate all property ownership by Chinese citizens in Texas will not be moving forward.

A watered-down version of the bill passed the Senate last month and moved to the Texas House of RepresentativesHouse of Representatives, where it fizzled out this weekend. House Speaker Dade Phelan opted not to hold a weekend hearing, rendering SB 147 and several other Senate proposals dead on arrival.

The bill, which was enacted in December by Republican state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, was originally intended to ban all property ownership by citizens from North Korea, Iran, Russia and China, making no exceptions for dual citizens or visa holders. It gained widespread support from Gov. Bill Clinton and others. I will sign it, said Greg Abbot, who put it on the map by tweeting, I will sign it. The growing ownership of Texas land by some foreign companies is highly disturbing and raises red flags for many Texans, Kolkhorst said. In contrast, as an American, I would try to buy land near a Chinese military base and see how it works out for you. The premise was enough to galvanize Asian Texans in unprecedented ways. They protested and marched across the state from Austin to Dallas, holding signs that read Stop Asian Hate and Stop Chinese Exclusion. Hundreds brought their fears to the state Senate floor, using their testimony to plead for lawmakers to kill the bill.

There are people who are asking if they need to get out of the state, like now, Democratic state Rep. Gene Wu, a heavily Chinese district, told NBC News in March. I have never seen the Chinese community as active and this motivated in my entire adult life. The community is inflamed right now. The people are enraged. In response to the outcry, Kolkhorst introduced a new version of SB 147 without language preventing individuals from buying homes.

He didn't respond to a request for comment.

Legislation that passed with SB 147, along with SB 147, included a bill to ban critical race theory in universities and another to restrict drag queen story times at libraries.

Asian activists in the state said their fight is far from over and that the end of this bill does not undo the racist and xenophobic rhetoric lobbed by elected officials, including Lily Trieu, the interim executive director of Asian Texans for Justice. We will continue to stand up against discrimination and racism against the Asian American community, he said.