Florida Legislature Seeks An End To Nation's Last Alien Land Law
In the 2009 session the Florida Legislature, via joint resolution of the House and Senate, proposed an amendment to the Florida Constitution which would eliminate the last alien land law remaining on the books in the United States of America. To do so, the Legislature seeks to place a proposed amendment on the next statewide ballot to eliminate an antiquated constitutional provision which allows the legislature to regulate or prohibit the ownership, inheritance, disposition, and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship.
The pertinent section of the Florida Constitution comes from Article I, the Declaration of Rights. Section Two therein sets forth Floridians’ basic rights,
“All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, to pursue happiness, to be rewarded for industry, and to acquire, possess and protect property except that the ownership, inheritance, disposition and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship may be regulated or prohibited by law. No person shall be deprived of any right because of race, religion, national origin, or physical disability.” (Emphasis supplied).
The Joint Resolutions (SJR 314 and HJR 203) propose to eliminate the highlighted language. According to the legislative staff analyses accompanying the Resolutions, most alien land laws had been found unconstitutional in the United States by 1960, with Wyoming, Kansas, New Mexico and Florida the last of the states with such provisions. Between 2001 and 2006, Wyoming, Kansas and New Mexico repealed their respective alien land laws. Because Florida’s alien land law is part of the state constitution, the Legislature may not simply repeal the measure; rather the Florida Constitution must be amended. This will be the second attempt at eliminating this language from Florida’s Declaration of Rights, a similar measure (Amendment 1) failed to achieve the necessary majority of sixty percent in November of 2008.