TOPEKA — Republican Sen. Jeff Longbine says a bill passed by the Legislature stripping Kansas property from companies and individuals tied to China, Iran, North Korea and other adversarial nations was so profoundly unconstitutional that $10 million should be set aside in the budget to defend against lawsuits.
The bill would prohibit people or entities from “countries of concern” from acquiring nonresidential property within a 100-mile radius of Kansas military installations or comparable facilities in adjacent states. Anyone holding substantial property within the security zones must register with the attorney general and divest of the property unless granted an exemption by federal officials.
Attorney General Kris Kobach would be responsible for investigating reports of illegal ownership and for seeking court orders to force divestiture of property held by national security risks. A separate provision would allow those forced to sell property to file claims against the state for compensation if fire-sale transactions generated prices below fair-market value.
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