[La-cgs] Concerns about HB 537

[B. Ramu Ramachandran]

Dear research and higher education leaders:

House Bill 537, introduced on March 31, has language that should be very concerning to all IHEs. The bill is attached with my highlights. If passed in its present form, the bill could prohibit citizens of China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela (as long as Maduro is in charge) from buying or leasing immovable property in the State. There is an exception for US permanent residents (Section F.2) but not for people on F, H, or J visas. If I understand this correctly, this bill says that international students, postdocs, visitors, or new faculty hires from these countries may not rent or buy property until they become permanent residents. Some of the strongest tenure-track faculty candidates in STEM disciplines --and many of our recent hires and current students-- are Chinese or Iranian citizens. I hope this bill is on your radar, and some action can be taken.

One edit that may address the concerns of IHE's may be to add the text in red to Section A.1:
"No foreign adversary or person connected with a foreign adversary may purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire non-residential immovable property in this state."


However, this would have negative implications for business start-ups, job creation, and innovation in the State. Another minimally invasive edit that may address these concerns is to delete the words "that is a legal permanent resident" from Section F.2 so that the statement becomes: "It shall not include a person with lawful presence in the United States."

I acknowledge that the proposed edit in F.2 would render the bill rather toothless. You already have to establish legal presence to buy property of any kind, open bank accounts, etc.. At the same time, the bill does nothing to address what should be the major concern in this regard -- stopping shell corporations from buying up property on behalf of "adversaries or persons connected with foreign adversaries."

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,
Ramu

P.S. I have already shared these thoughts with the President, Provost, and Exec Associate VP for Research & Partnerships at Louisiana Tech as well as our legal counsel.
--------- B. Ramu Ramachandran Associate Vice President for Research & Dean of Graduate School T. L. James Eminent Scholar Chair Professor P. O. Box 7923 Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA 71272, USA 318-257-4304
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