by WorldTribune Staff, June 5, 2025 Real World News
Arizona Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed legislation aimed at prohibiting China from making land purchases near strategic sites in the state.
Hobbs said the bill, S.B. 1109, was "ineffective at counter-espionage" and did not "directly protect" American military assets in the state.
State Senate Majority Leader Janae Shamp said the "politically motivated veto" was "utterly insane," blaming Hobbs for being "an obstructionist against safeguarding our citizens from threats."
"The actual Chinese government, our enemy, was trying to lease buildings near the (Luke Air Force) base," Shamp said, per the Arizona Mirror. "(N)ot making sure that we are protecting our national security or our men and women on the ground here in Arizona is ludicrous to me."
S.B. 1109, which can still pass if the Arizona legislature overrides Hobbs's veto, would have prohibited communist China from having a 30% or more stake in Arizona property.
Hobbs claimed the bill lacked "clear implementation criteria," which opened the door for "arbitrary enforcement."
Supporters say the legislation went through a bipartisan amendment process in the state legislature in an effort to assuage concerns that it might lead to discrimination in land sales, according to local outlet the AZ Mirror. The initial version of the bill banned certain people and entities deemed to be national security threats from buying up land in Arizona, but following subsequent amendments the bill only sought to ban Chinese government-linked entities and its subsidiaries.
"Governor Hobbs’s veto of SB 1109 hangs an 'Open for the CCP' sign on Arizona’s front door, allowing Communist China to buy up American land near critical assets like Luke Air Force Base, Palo Verde nuclear power plant, and Taiwan Semiconductor’s growing fabrication footprint," said Michael Lucci, the CEO and founder of State Armor Action, a conservative group with a mission to develop and enact state-level solutions to global security threats.
"Allowing communist China to buy up land near our critical assets is a national security risk, plain and simple, and Governor Hobbs is substantively and completely wrong when she says that SB 1109 ‘is ineffective at counter-espionage and does not directly protect our military assets,’" Lucci added.
Lucci pointed to Ukraine's recent drone attacks that destroyed significant numbers of Russian military aircraft, noting that "proximity produces peril in asymmetric warfare."
As of March 17, according to the China-focused nonprofit Committee of 100, 27 states are currently considering 84 bills aimed at restricting foreign property ownership in some way, while Congress is currently considering seven separate bills addressing the issue. So far, the committee indicated, 22 states have passed bills restricting foreign property ownership, 17 of which were passed into law in 2024.
