By Bob Christie
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- Arizona won’t ban the People's Republic of China from buying property here after Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a Republican-backed measure that would have added to the growing list of states banning the communist nation from making land purchases over national security concerns.
Hobbs said in her veto message that while it is important to protect infrastructure, the bill is "ineffective at counter-espionage and does not directly protect our military assets.''
"Additionally, it lacks clear implementation criteria and opens the door to arbitrary enforcement,'' Hobbs wrote in the letter to the Legislature issued after the late Monday veto.
Senate Bill 1109 was sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, who slammed Hobbs for the veto.
She said Hobbs endangered state and national security and pointed to what she said was a recent effort by China to lease property near Luke Air Force Base in the west Phoenix suburb of Glendale.
Luke is a primary training base for pilots of the F-35 stealth fighter from the U.S. and several allies.
Shamp said in a statement issued Tuesday that Hobbs was violating her oath of office with "every politically motivated veto of public safety legislation put on her desk by Republicans.''
"SB1109 was a commonsense measure to ensure enemies of the United States would not have easy access to our military bases and critical infrastructure to carry out harm,'' Shamp said.
China and other potential adversaries don't have free rein to buy property near the state’s military bases, even without Shamp's proposal. That’s because a U.S. Treasury Department agency known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States reviews foreign land purchases.
And under expanded rules adopted by the Biden Administration late last year after concerns about Chinese purchases, the agency known as CFIUS can block transactions near scores of bases across the nation. In Arizona, Luke, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, the Yuma Proving Grounds and even Camp Navajo in Bellemont are covered.
And President Donald Trump in February ordered CFIUS to further restrict Chinese investment in farmland and real estate near sensitive facilities and in strategic U.S. sectors like technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, energy and more.
Even with all that, however, Shamp said her legislation was necessary to close any loopholes in existing federal restrictions.
Shamp's bill was originally much broader than what finally made it to Hobbs' desk.
As initially passed by the Senate, it applied to the government, officials or businesses from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran and barred them from buying land or other property.
It also applied to any of those country's citizens unless they were permanent U.S. residents. The only exemption was for a home on less than 2 acres -- if it was at least 50 miles from a military base or 25 miles from a military practice range, meaning not in Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, Flagstaff or Sierra Vista.
Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, had issues with the sweeping nature of the Senate bill, calling it potentially "pernicious'' because someone could have their property seized for no good reason.
He also said he believed the Arizona Constitution didn’t allow it.
"There might be very good policy reasons for doing it,'' Kolodin told Capitol Media Services. "But the Takings Clause of the Arizona Constitution is broader than the federal version. It basically says you can't take private property for private use, which is what the bill in its original form did.''
So Kolodin pushed a House amendment that focused the bill just on China and its government.
"It was a lot messier before I made my amendment,'' he said. "With my amendment it's pretty crystal clear. The PRC can't own property in Arizona. That's about as clear as you can be.''
He said he was amazed that the much-thinner bill still was hit by Hobbs' veto buzz saw.
She’s hurtling toward breaking her own 2023 veto record of 143, now just four short of that with the Legislature still in session.
Many of the bills Hobbs axed this session were clearly veto bait, but the China veto was a headscratcher for Kolodin.
"It's a very weird thing to veto,'' he said. "I can't think of any reasonable explanation.''
Kolodin specifically took issue with the part of Hobbs veto letter that said the measure lacks clear interpretation criteria and could lead to arbitrary enforcement.
"How does it lack clear implementation?'' Kolodin asked.
"“If the People's Republic of China owns property in Arizona, they can't,'' he said. "The PRC can't buy land in Arizona. They can't own land in Arizona. If the PRC is on the title to the land then it violates the law. And if the PRC isn't on the title to the land, then it doesn't violate the law. It couldn't be clearer.''
Under the proposal, the attorney general was charged with enforcement and could bring a lawsuit in court to get an order taking title to the property. The county where it was located would then sell the land, pay off lienholders and give the remaining money to the Chinese government after subtracting the AG's and county's costs.
During their final vote on the House-amended version last week, Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan, D-Tucson, said the measure should fail because it targeted Chinese people.
"May is still Asian American and Pacific Islander month, and yet, here we are hearing a bill that has been very narrowly amended so that it specifically targets foreign nationals from China from owning land in the state,'' Sundareshan said. "“What a way to celebrate Asian American month.''
She said she was "sad to see this kind of exclusionary bill,'' come up for a vote.
"I understand there are national security concerns that are professed as the reason for this bill,'' she said. "I think there are better ways to do it, and therefore I urge a no vote.''
But Shamp and other Senate Republicans pushed back, saying the bill didn’t target the people of China.
"I’d like to clear the air -- this doesn't have anything to do with Chinese nationals.'' Shamp said.
"This has to do with the People's Republic of China,'' she continued. "And the People's Republic of China is an enemy of the United States. And the People's Republic of China is currently trying to spy on Luke Air Force Base and the F 35 pilots in training.''
At least 22 states enacted legislation regulating foreign ownership of real estate between January 2023 and July 2024, prompted by national security concerns, according to a congressional report. The National Conference of State Legislatures notes that foreign ownership of U.S. farmland has been rising for a decade, with renewable energy a main reason. Allied nations are the largest owners, but purchases by Chinese entities raised the alarm, especially a since-abandoned 2022 plan by a Chinese company to buy land near a North Dakota military base.
Shamp said there have been numerous examples of China buying land near U.S. bases that raised national security concerns, calling it "very real thing'' that isn’t made up in a movie.
"This is the elite of the elite in the world, right here in Glendale, Arizona, and this bill is to protect them,'' she said. "This bill is to make sure that our enemies are not buying our land and spying on national security bases.''
-- Howard Fischer contributed to this report.
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