Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Oct. 9 proposed stronger rules to implement and enforce Senate Bill 17, the state law that restricts certain people and entities tied to designated foreign adversaries from buying or acquiring interests in Texas real property, according to a news release from the Office of the Attorney General.
The Legislature passed the measure during the 89th regular session, and it took effect Sept. 1, 2025, the office said. The law covers nations designated as adversaries, including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. The new proposal builds on the attorney general’s office’s earlier proposed rules, keeping most of them while adding protections and clarifications, the release said.
Under the proposal, any person, not only those involved in facilitating real estate transactions, may submit a complaint to the office about a potential violation, according to the release. The rules also would give protection for due diligence to entities that rely in good faith on industry-group standards.
The proposed rules would direct the office to develop a plan for an online registry of covered Texas properties, including those acquired before the law took effect, the office said. According to the release, the registry would be modeled on the Texas Sex Offender Registry and would include mapping and search features. Individuals also could report property acquisitions that predate Senate Bill 17 to the office under the proposal.
Paxton also said his office has begun developing a new task force focused on foreign land sales in Texas, according to the release.
The attorney general’s office said the new rules will be published for review in the Oct. 9 issue of the Texas Register, the state’s official journal of proposed and adopted rules.
The proposal reflects the office’s continuing effort to put Senate Bill 17 into practice. The registry plan and the broader complaint process, as described by the attorney general’s office, would give property owners, industry participants and members of the public additional ways to flag and track covered acquisitions in Texas.