Ohio lawmakers in both House and Senate could pass two bills banning ‘foreign adversaries’ from buying land

State lawmakers could pass two bills that would ban “foreign adversaries” from buying land in the state, while some Democrats have opposed them, saying they might target “law-abiding immigrants” living in Ohio.

House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 88 would prohibit “foreign adversaries,” people or organizations with ties to the governments of China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela, as well as terrorists and state sponsors of terrorism, from purchasing property within 10 miles of military bases or facilities deemed “critical infrastructure,” according to The Blade and Cleveland.com.

Both HB 1 and SB 88 have a foundation, Save Our Farmland and Protect Our National Security Act, which restricts certain foreign actors from purchasing farmland in Ohio and requires the Ohio Secretary of State to maintain a registry of people who are not allowed to buy land in the state, according to Cleveland.com.

The Blade reported that, in addition to that, the foreigners on the list would not be able to buy Ohio land near petroleum refineries, electric facilities, water facilities, natural gas facilities, ports, trucking terminals, dams, steel-making facilities, oil facilities, and mining operations, among other places.

Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, told The Blade on Wednesday that HB 1 is likely to pass the House in the coming weeks.

“My expectation is that it will get passed out of the House, if not next week, then in May or June,” Huffman said, crediting the bill sponsors, state Reps. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Haviland, and Angela King, R-Celina, as well as House Public Safety Committee Chairman Cindy Abrams, R-Harrison, for reworking the bill so that it would have a chance of ending up on Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk.

King wrote in the Jan. 20, 2025, press release that “we are already seeing foreign adversaries trying to move into Ohio.”

“Fufeng USA, a Chinese based company, has already attempted to purchase land in Paulding County. This company has also attempted to purchase land just 15 miles away from Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. The sale was denied because the assistant secretary of the Air Force labeled the sale a ‘significant threat to national security,’” she wrote.

In his press release, Klopfenstein said that King and he introduced HB 1 not only to protect Ohioans from “foreign investors that are enemies,” but also give an avenue to those who do come here legitimately a way to live the American Dream.”

Aside from the lawmakers responsible for introducing the bill, there were also other people who supported legislation, like Michael Lucci, the founder of State Armor, which researches solutions to global security threats, who said that HB 1 is “long overdue.”

“Ohio’s large population, strategic location, industrial mix, critical military installations, and new defense tech investments make it essential for Ohio to enact a property protection law,” Lucci told The Blade.

Adam Savit, director of China Policy for the America First Policy Institute, also told The Blade that HB 1 will protect Ohio from the Chinese Communist Party and would not “target American citizens of any background,” adding that “lawful permanent residents of the United States are not the subject of this legislation.”

“This committee should reject any attempt to mischaracterize this bill and should not allow political pressure to substitute for a fair reading of its text,” he said.

Bette Grande, policy director for the Pro-Family Legislative Network, agreed, telling The Blade that the Ohio lawmakers pushing HB 1 is a “powerful step” in the direction toward the government protecting the “lives, rights, and property of its citizens.”

However, there were a lot of people who opposed both bills, including state Rep. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati, who called both bills “discriminatory” towards immigrants.

State Reps. Juanita Brent, D-Cleveland, Anita Somani, D-Dublin, and Munira Abdullahi, D-Columbus, condemned both bills in a joint statement, calling them “symbols of hate.”

“So many people in so many different parts of our state work or own businesses. Like myself and many others in this country, we are products of immigrants unless you are native to this land. No one wants to live in a state that allows people to be hated and discriminated against, no matter their race or country of origin,” they wrote.

Man Zhang, a professor of international business at Bowling Green State University, told The Blade that she also doesn’t like the bill because it “targets law-abiding immigrants and long-time residents solely based on their nationality.”

“This includes international workers and students who live, study, and contribute to Ohio’s economy and communities,” she said.