Texas Drafts Lenders and Title Firms Into Its Foreign Land Law; Illinois Appeals for Its Swipe Fee Ban; Arizona Approves a 700 MW Gas Plant

The bottom line today

“Knows or should have known, after reasonable due diligence.” That phrase, in rules the Texas attorney general proposed on October 9, would turn the state’s lenders, title insurers, appraisers and real estate agents into the first line of enforcement for SB 17, the 2025 law barring buyers tied to designated countries from Texas land [1, 2]. The Legislature gave the job to the attorney general [2]. The draft rule hands part of it to the private sector, and that is today’s lead. Arizona, meanwhile, approved 700 megawatts of new gas generation, which is the day’s good news for anyone who needs power on a hot afternoon [8].

TX Texas SB 17 rules: real estate professionals get a reporting duty

What it does. SB 17, by Sen. Kolkhorst, bars governments, companies and certain individuals tied to a “designated country” from buying or acquiring an interest in Texas real property, defined to include agricultural land, commercial and industrial property, groundwater, minerals, timber and water rights [2]. Designated countries are those named in at least one of the three most recent U.S. intelligence threat assessments, plus any the governor adds [2]. A company that violates it faces a civil penalty of the greater of $250,000 or 50 percent of the property’s market value, and a court-appointed receiver sells the property [2].

The attorney general’s proposed Chapter 67 adds three things that matter to business [1]. First, a “facilitating entity,” meaning a mortgage lender, title insurance company, property insurer, appraiser or licensed real estate professional, must file a complaint when it knows or should have known a deal violates the law, and one that does not can be referred to its licensing board [1]. Second, “control” includes any shareholder with 10 percent or more of voting interests and any executive officer [1]. Third, “purchase or otherwise acquire” covers taking control of a company that owns Texas real property, “regardless of whether the entity acquired the real property before September 1, 2025” [1].

Where it stands. The House adopted SB 17’s conference report 85-57 and the Senate 23-8; the governor signed it June 20, 2025, and it took effect September 1, 2025 [2]. The proposal was published October 9 with comments accepted for 30 days, which by this column’s count runs to November 8 [1].

Pratt’s read. The Legislature’s case is national security, and its findings cite the intelligence community’s assessments of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea [2]. Fair enough. The rule’s notice says it imposes no significant cost “beyond those imposed by” the statute [1]. A complaint duty with a “should have known” standard and license referral is a cost, though, and a closing agent will pay it in diligence on every farm sale with a foreign name in the chain. Credit where due: the draft includes a safe harbor for know-your-customer checks done to regulatory or trade-group standards [1]. The entity-control definition deserves the hardest look from anyone doing Texas deals. It reaches land bought long before the law existed whenever the owning company changes hands.

TX Texas SB 896: newborn coverage window doubles for employer plans

What it does. SB 896, by Sen. Blanco and Rep. Cole, extends required coverage of a newborn under small and large employer plans from the 32nd to the 61st day after birth, and gives parents until the 60th day, not the 31st, to notify the plan and pay any added premium [4]. It applies to plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026 [4]. The Texas Department of Insurance adopted conforming rules in 28 TAC §26.9 and §26.305, effective October 11 [3].

Where it stands. The Senate passed it 31-0 and the House 130-14; the governor signed it June 20, 2025 [4]. The only written comment on the rule came from the Texas Hospital Association, in support [3].

Pratt’s read. This is a small mandate on insurers, and through premiums on employers, with a real payoff for hospitals that deliver babies and then chase coverage. No cost figure is in the record. Thirty more days to file paperwork after a birth is a reasonable ask, and this column has no quarrel with it.

IL Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act: the state appeals

What it does. The act bars banks, card networks and others from charging interchange fees on the tax and tip portion of a card sale [5].

Where it stands. In June, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall permanently enjoined enforcement against national banks, federal savings associations, out-of-state state-chartered banks protected by federal law and card networks, and she later added federal credit unions [5]. On October 14 the ABA Banking Journal reported that Attorney General Kwame Raoul will appeal, and the bank plaintiffs have cross-appealed [5]. The law itself will not take effect until at least July 1, 2027, after Gov. Pritzker signed SB 3645 with a second one-year delay [6].

Pratt’s read. Business sits on both sides. Restaurant and retail groups promoted the law [7]. The American Bankers Association says it “threatens to fragment the payments system, undermine operational stability,” and estimates about 1.3 million Illinois merchants are affected [7]. A restaurant paying a fee on the sales tax it collects for the state has a fair complaint. But the injunction’s reach leaves, on this column’s reading, mostly Illinois-chartered institutions under a rule their national competitors escape [5]. A law that binds only the home team is a poor way to cut anyone’s costs.

AZ Arizona Eagle Eye Energy Center: 700 MW of gas approved

What it does. The Corporation Commission approved a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility for Eagl, LLC’s Eagle Eye Energy Center in La Paz County: a 700 MW natural gas plant of 14 turbines at 50 MW each, about two miles north of Wenden, with a 4.7-mile transmission line [8].

Where it stands. Approved at the October 7 open meeting, in a docket listed as L-21323A-26-0244-00263 [8].

Pratt’s read. Firm capacity is what a fast-growing load needs, and Arizona is adding it. The commission said on October 9 that residential and small business customers “are not and will not subsidize current and future data centers,” and pointed to large-load tariffs and upfront capital requirements [10]. That answered a 12News estimate of $587 million in APS surcharges, which the commission disputes [10]. Arizona paused its data center tax breaks this year, as this release noted in September. Keeping the grid build tied to the customers who drive it is the right rule.

AZ Arizona APS bill credit: one month without the renewable surcharge

What it does. The commission voted unanimously to skip APS’s Renewable Energy Adjustment Charge on November 2026 bills, drawing on about $33.6 million of uncommitted fund balance and money from Green Power Partners, in which commercial and industrial customers buy renewable credits [9]. The average residential customer could save about $14.70 [9].

Where it stands. Approved October 8; the charge returns to its approved rate December 1 [9]. Vice Chair Walden noted that the attorney general has challenged the commission’s repeal of its renewable standard rules [9].

Pratt’s read. It is one month, and the release states no figure for business customers [9]. Still, the money exists partly because commercial buyers paid voluntarily, and returning it beats letting it sit.

On the calendar

Comments on the Texas SB 17 rules close November 8 by this column’s count [1]. APS files its annual Power Supply Adjustor proposal by November 30, after a rate case the commission expects to finish by year-end [10]. The APS surcharge resumes December 1 [9]. Illinois’s swipe fee law cannot take effect before July 1, 2027, and the appeal will decide how many lenders it reaches [5, 6].