Big Country state rep files bill to ban foreign land ownership

BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) — In this week's episode of Big Country Politics, District 68 Representative David Spiller discussed some of his priorities, emphasizing border security and creating legislation to ban foreign land ownership in Texas.

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Spiller has just won his third term in office. He represents District 68, which includes Brown, Comanche, Cooke, Eastland, Jack, Lampasas, Mills, Montague, San Saba, Shackelford, Throckmorton, and Young counties.

"I'm thankful for the opportunity. I appreciate the voters supporting me. I think my election was won by 87.22%. I think that was higher than anybody. So maybe that's a good sign, but I'm ready to get back to work and work for the people at House District 68, which covers 12 rural counties," Spiller shared.

Multiple media outlets have reported that Americans are primarily concerned about the economy and border security. Spiller mentioned that in District 68, border security is the top issue, and he is actively working on legislation and collaborating with the governor's office to address it.

"The problem is that when you have illegal immigration, it affects all counties. All counties become border counties, and it affects my position in rural counties I represent significantly and adversely, much more than it does urban and suburban counties because we don't have the resources to take care of this, whether it be school-related. The funding and the curriculum issues and requirement requirements for that, whether it be health care, I do a lot," Spiller said. "I'm General Counsel for our hospital district and have been for over 30 years. So I do a lot with health care, and hospitals aren't getting reimbursed by the taxpayers, or if it's a public thing, are having to eat that cost. I passed and carried SB four, the most significant and strongest border security bill in the history of our state and the history of our nation, in the last session. It's in the court system right now, and so that prohibits illegal entry, illegal re-entry, and violation of an order to return."

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Border Patrol agents have reported that the Biden administration has not been helpful, and Spiller considers this an understatement.

"The Biden administration has completely failed and refused to secure our border in accordance with existing federal law. They've repealed many of the policies that were in place to protect Texas and our country. They failed to do that. With President Trump coming in, I'm certain that we will reinstate those policies and we will actually follow the law. So number one, we have that," Spiller said. "Number two is what's important for Texas and why we would now have control of the as Republicans for the Senate and the House and with Donald Trump as president, is that we will be entitled to be reimbursed the billions and billions of dollars that Texas taxpayers had paid out of their pocket to do the federal government's job. So, I'm looking forward to that for the state of Texas. That's certainly something that we are looking forward to."

Spiller has also proposed a bill requiring every local government in Texas to verify individuals' immigration status and check whether they have been arrested, jailed, or charged.

"We do that at the state level, but I'm also doing it relative to all local governments in Texas; I think that's a good policy. More importantly, it ties in with the deportation issue. What I'm hearing is that the first and foremost folks that need to go back are people who are breaking our laws, who are convicted felons, who are here, who don't need to be here, and who are creating problems and they're a threat to our country and a threat to our state," Spiller shared. "But part of the problem is that some of these larger cities aren't identifying those folks, and so I have a bill that, at no additional cost, requires them to determine someone's immigration status, to determine if they're arrested and jailed, and charged whether they're here legally or not, and under federal law, they can ask for that information. But many of these cities and counties are not doing that, so this would require everyone to do that."

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When asked if he believed this bill would face backlash, he anticipated opposition from the Democratic Party.

"I think what I would meet is resistance from the Democrats in the Texas House because every single one of them voted against border security this past session. But this is not about race... It's about whether you arrived legally or not, which ties into SB four because even under SB four, it's treated as a misdemeanor, but you can be ordered to return," Spiller explained. "There's nothing unfair or discriminatory about asking someone to go back if they arrived here illegally or impromptly. We have immigration we have immigration laws in place. We have proper places at ports of entry for people to cross. But what's happening is not that, and we have a record number of documented terrorists, child molesters, convicted felons, and gang members that are posing a threat to our state and our nation, and we can't sustain that."

Spiller's district underwent redistricting. It now has fewer counties, but it overlaps with five congressmen and five senators.

"Last session through redistricting, my district changed, and I went from having the strangest looking district in the house to now having the strangest looking district in the house. So it's just different. I had 22 counties. I'm down to 12. They're all still rural, but I cover it's 300 miles from one end to the other. I put a lot of miles on my truck, but that's okay. I have had the opportunity to work with five congressmen and five senators, which also helps, you know, trying to work together for the benefit of Texas," Spiller said.

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Spiller has filed legislation banning foreign land ownership in Texas.

"My background. I'm an attorney. I have practiced law for 38 years. I've routinely handled contested real estate litigation. I also own the oldest family-owned title company in the state of Texas, started by my great-granddad in 1988, so I deal with Title related issues, also set up corporations, LLCs, and things like that, and deal with the operation and setup of those through the Secretary of State's office. All of that comes into play here because this is a complicated issue," Spiller explained. "Texas doesn't prohibit people who are not citizens from owning property, but what Texas needs to prohibit are those that have been identified on the US threat assessment that comes out annually by our federal government that names countries. Currently, there are four, China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran that pose a threat to our country. By pose a threat, if anyone can look that up online and read that threat assessment, it's a pretty simple read. It's only 25 pages long, but it will scare you when you realize what they're doing and how they're doing it. As Texans, we need to protect Texas, and not only protect our critical infrastructure and military bases, because many of these are buying land right close to military bases."

He stated that the bill defines which companies are seen as threats and ensures it addresses more than just the surface.

"What companies are a threat, and which ones are owned or controlled by foreign entities? There are some definitions in my bill. I filed this bill last session. It was bill HB 4006 . I thought, no disparagement to any other bills that dealt with that issue, but I thought it was the best bill that promptly addressed it," Spiller shared. "I got a lot of input from stakeholders and other people in the real estate title. The whole business is about how to best draft this so it doesn't target individuals. It's not limited to just ag land. It's not limited to just the surface. It can be minerals. There are a number of things that make it distinctive, but it also works and has a great deal of support. So I'm hopeful we filed the same bill, and hopefully, we can get that across the finish line."

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Additionally, Spiller mentioned in a press release that House Bill 243 allows the Texas Attorney General to exercise the state's power of eminent domain. This legislation aims to reduce vulnerabilities, minimize consequences, and identify and disrupt threats posed by foreign landowners who may use their property ownership in Texas in a threatening manner.

Rep.-Spiller-Files-Bills-Banning-Foreign-Land-Ownership-11.13.24 Download

"Let me first clarify because I filed two bills with the issue; the main one is to prohibit foreign ownership of land by those companies controlled by those four entities. The remedy for that is under Chapter 64 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which provides for a receivership. So even if there's a lender, no one gets harmed. You deal with the issue there, and everyone's entitled to their day in court to determine whether they are violating that statute or not," Spiller explained. "The second bill is House Bill 243, which is kind of an ancillary bill that deals with any entity that poses a threat to critical infrastructure. It gives the Attorney General's office the ability to file eminent domain proceedings. So it's slightly different, but it also addresses the concern of anything that would have happened before. If it's currently a threat, then the Attorney General's Office can deal with that. If it's not, then they won't. The two bills kind of go hand in hand, and you need House Bill 191, but you also need House Bill 243 to cover any circumstances where you currently have a threat that wouldn't otherwise be covered by this new statute."

Spiller believes he has enough support to advance this legislation but is uncertain about where Democrats will stand.

"My position is Texans have to step up and protect Texas, especially when the federal government fails and refuses to do so. The federal government has done nothing in this area. They haven't regulated at all. Roughly 1/3 of our farmland, our agricultural land, in the United States, is owned by foreign entities. Most people don't know that, and that data was as of December 22, so that number may have been higher," Spiller shared. "Land is being acquired right adjacent to or contiguous to existing military installations, 15 of which are located in Texas. We have a huge threat at our doorstep here, and we have to do what we can to protect it. So I've got a number of things that I'm following. I'm working with both of the issues that we've talked about today, but I'm doing other things related to healthcare, related to water, related to energy, all of those types of things that we're carrying, and that we're still working on, that I look forward to passing, and hopefully we'll have a great session."