Ron Desantis' new Chinese Beat Law affects their sore spot: real estate agents.

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The Florida legislature passed the new Ron DeSantis Act.

Earlier this year, the Florida Legislature passed what we'll call the Ron DeSantis Look Hard on China Act, vote for it in 2023. This law prohibits the purchase of homes or real estate in Florida for anyone who "resides" in China unless they are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. DeSantis said the law is absolutely necessary to protect Florida and the U.S. from the threat of Chinese Communist Party members stealing our essence by owning an apartment in Miami-Dade or creating places to spy at airports, water treatment plants or Marlins training facilities. Of course, there's also the presidential race with the "tough on China" policy.

Practical problems caused by the law

In practice, according to NBC News, the law has created problems in the Florida real estate market, causing frustration and chaos not for members of the Chinese Communist Party, but for ordinary wealthy Chinese citizens who, like many other foreigners, would like to own a vacation home in the U.S., buy a place to live for their adult children living in the U.S., or buy an apartment or house to live in while working in the U.S., given that China is not only an international center of evil, but also a business that Republicans appear to love. The law also contains other restrictions on foreign ownership, but only Chinese citizens are prohibited from directly purchasing real estate in the state.

Excluding a category of people and racial profiling

Interestingly, if you exclude an entire category of people who have the money to buy real estate in Florida, it's also bad for the Florida real estate market, which is a pretty big part of the economy. And that's what DeSantis did: he made us feel a tiny bit of sympathy for real estate developers and real estate agents. And, of course, the ban on selling real estate to Chinese nationals has led to ethnic profiling, because what realtor wants to go to jail for a year and/or pay a fine of up to $1,000 for violating this stupid law? Potential buyers are also being scared off, even those who might not be excluded under the law, because the penalty for a Chinese national who illegally purchases real estate in Florida is up to five years in prison and significant fines.

The lawsuit against Florida and the implications of the law

ACLU and other civil rights groups have united a group of Chinese residents to file a lawsuit against Florida in federal court.

The Justice Department supported their efforts in filing this summer, saying the law was unconstitutional, but a judge dismissed the suit in August, preparing grounds for an appeal. Realtors also say the law has hurt their sales and turned into a mess overall because they have to vet clients in ways that border or even cross the line into racial profiling. One provision of the law requires Chinese citizens who already own property in Florida to register it with the Florida Department of Commerce by Jan. 1, 2024, or else face hefty fines.

Well, the state still has November and December, plus the rest of this month, to set it all up. A spokesman for the Commerce Department told NBC News that the agency will definitely comply.

The real estate restrictions have yet to improve DeSantis' standing in the polls. He may have to kidnap some of the Chinese nationals checking out open houses this weekend and take them to Massachusetts.

[NBC News]

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Translated by Yandex.Translate