State Rep. Bobby Payne (R-FL) predicted that the Florida legislature will pass a bill this session banning entities associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and other hostile nations from purchasing land in Florida.
Florida State Reps. Brad Yeager and Toby Overdorf also told USDA Newswire that they would support a bill doing so.
"I am looking forward to working with the governor’s office, Secretary Simpson and Florida legislators to restrict purchases of land in Florida by those foreign entities," Payne said.
Referred to as the Florida Strategic Land Plan, the bill would restrict the purchase, acquisition, lease or holding of controlling interest in agricultural land in the Sunshine State by “nonresident aliens, foreign businesses and corporations, or foreign governments."
"We must control and restrict these acquisitions to protect and safeguard our farmers/ranchers and military lands for the long-term interest, not only for Florida, but for necessary commodities and food production throughout the U.S.," Payne said. "I expect the proposed language must be narrowly tailored in order to disclose and prevent third party investors from finding ways to bypass the process. I am confident that we will find solutions to the serious problem as we move into this session."
Earlier this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that he would support legislation banning entities associated with the CCP from buying land in the state, The Daily Wire reported.
“When they have interests that are opposed to ours and you see how they’ve wielded their authority, especially with President Xi, who’s taken a much more Marxist turn since he’s been ruling China, [it] is not in the best interest of Florida to have the Chinese Communist Party owning farmland, owning land close to military bases,” DeSantis said during a visit to Bonita Springs.
State Rep. Brad Yeager (R-56) told USDA Newswire, "I absolutely support a bill banning any person or entity that is any way connected to the CCP or People’s Republic of China from purchasing any type of land in Florida. China has a plan to control food supply chains and resources in the U.S. and we must not allow that to happen. It is happening across the country and we must stop it now."
State Rep. Toby Oberdorf (R-83) also told USDA Newswire he would support a bill blocking the CCP from purchasing Florida land.
In December, the chair of Florida's Senate Committee on Agriculture, State Sen. Jay Collins (R-Tampa), and Agriculture Commissioner-Elect Wilton Simpson released a framework for a bill titled "Florida's Strategic Land Plan," which would prohibit nonresident aliens and foreign corporations and governments from purchasing agricultural land or land in the vicinity of military bases within the state.
"We have a responsibility to ensure Floridians have access to a safe, affordable and abundant food and water supply," Simpson said in a statement at the time. "Florida plays a critical role in our food supply chain and in the national security of the United States. China now controls nearly 200,000 acres of agricultural land in the U.S., leaving our food supply chain, our water quality and our national security interests vulnerable to the Chinese Communist Party. Restricting foreign control of Florida’s agricultural land and key strategic military land will protect our state, provide long-term stability and preserve economic freedom."
Foreign entities owned 1.3 million acres of Florida land as of 2020.
A fact sheet released by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) states that banning the CCP from purchasing American agricultural land is not a partisan issue; it is a national security issue. American farmland is a strategic asset that enables the U.S. to maintain food security and independence, but China's Belt and Road Initiative includes the goal of controlling global food supply chains. Citing documents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the report found that the amount of U.S. farmland owned by Chinese entities rose from 13,720 acres in 2010 to 352,140 acres in 2020. Approximately 352,140 acres is enough for almost 800 American families to farm.
Although almost 20% of the global population lives in China, the country possesses only 7-9% of global arable land. Whereas China had 294 million acres of arable land in 2018 and a population of 1.4 billion as of 2020, the U.S. has over 375 million acres of arable land and a population of 329.5 million. China's arable land has been shrinking over the last decade due to soil and water pollution, industrial growth and urbanization. Chinese entities have been purchasing American farmland in an attempt to resolve this problem, according to a report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
