(The Center Square) – Two bills moving through the Louisiana Legislature would expand the state’s power to respond to what lawmakers describe as threats from foreign adversaries, targeting both land ownership near military sites and state contracts that could benefit hostile foreign entities.
Both measures are authored by Sen. Valerie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, who chaired the Task Force on Protecting Louisiana’s Critical Infrastructure from Foreign Adversaries.
Hodges said the legislation is rooted in growing concern that geopolitical conflict abroad could quickly reach U.S. soil.
“The Taiwan ambassador said that before Beijing can move on Taiwan, they would have to disable America,” Hodges said in an interview. “They’ve been planning this for a long time. We’re not going to let our foreign adversaries or foreign terrorist orgs around our critical infrastructure.”
One bill, Senate Bill 200, would allow the Louisiana Military Department to expropriate immovable property within 50 miles of a military base if it is owned or controlled by a foreign adversary or an agent of a foreign adversary and is deemed a threat to public health and safety. The bill advanced through committee unanimously.
The proposal builds on existing Louisiana law that already bars foreign adversaries and people connected to them from buying or leasing immovable property in the state. Under current law, the attorney general can seek injunctive relief and courts can order property sold if it was acquired in violation of those restrictions.
SB200 goes further by allowing the state to take property near military installations regardless of when it was acquired, so long as the state can show the ownership poses a threat. The bill defines military base broadly to include U.S. military facilities, state military sites and Civil Air Patrol facilities.
The measure drew pushback in committee from a Chinese immigrant who said he is seeking permanent resident status in the United States. The witness presented a map showing the amount of land that could potentially fall within the bill’s reach and said the 50-mile rule was so broad it could affect much of Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
Hodges, however, said lawmakers should not give foreign adversaries the benefit of the doubt and that the burden of proof to show that the land owned by the foreign adversary is a threat is high enough to shield landowners from unjust seizures.
A second measure, Senate Bill 388, would prohibit state agencies from knowingly entering into or renewing contracts that benefit foreign adversaries, foreign terrorist organizations, or their agents. It would also require bidders on state contracts to certify that they are not connected to such entities and have not, within the previous five years, been convicted in a final federal judgment of knowingly providing material support to a foreign adversary or foreign terrorist organization.
Under the bill, a contractor that knowingly makes a false certification could face termination of the contract, damages and debarment from public contracting in Louisiana for up to 25 years.
The legislation would also give the governor emergency powers to suspend, restrict or cancel state contracts if an agency later discovers that a contract benefits a foreign adversary or foreign terrorist organization and the governor determines the arrangement poses an unacceptable risk to state security, public safety, economic stability or emergency preparedness.
Before issuing such an order, the governor would have to consult with the director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and the Louisiana attorney general. Affected entities could seek judicial review, though courts would review the governor’s action under an arbitrary-and-capricious standard.
Hodges said she deferred SB388 after deciding the measure needed to draw a clearer line between foreign adversary nations and foreign terrorist organizations.
“Because I realized there needs to be a better distinction between foreign adversary nations and foreign terrorist organization[s],” Hodges said. “I’ll have some amendments for next week.”
The bills come after heightened warnings from state and federal officials about foreign influence in Louisiana’s infrastructure and trade network.
In a July meeting with the Louisiana District Export Council, FBI New Orleans agent Benjamin Dreessen warned that China was “targeting the Mississippi River system,” according to meeting minutes previously reported by The Center Square. Dreessen said Chinese entities were increasingly focused on major ports in southern Louisiana, which serve as gateways to inland trade routes stretching toward cities such as St. Louis and Chicago.
Those concerns helped fuel the task force Hodges led, which examined vulnerabilities tied to land ownership, infrastructure, trade and other strategic sectors.
