Governor Greg Abbott has signed House Bill 4211 into law, targeting residential property developments that attempt to create what have been described as Sharia compounds in Texas. The legislation is intended to prevent housing schemes similar to EPIC City from engaging in discriminatory practices and defrauding Texans.
“One of the issues at stake is the freedom of religion,” said Governor Abbott. “Another issue at stake is what’s called the right to contract. The fact is, religious freedom is a central part of the Texas Constitution. But bad actors like EPIC and EPIC City tried to use religion as a form of segregation. We will ensure that we have the laws and law enforcement in place to prevent attempts to build such discriminatory compounds in the state of Texas.”
Governor Abbott explained that those behind EPIC City attempted to establish a community exclusively for Muslims, enforce Sharia law on residents, and limit landowners’ rights regarding future sales of their property. He emphasized that the new law upholds religious freedom while protecting against any efforts to impose Sharia law on Texans.
The bill signing event included Congressman Keith Self, Senator Angela Paxton, Representative Jeff Leach, Representative Candy Noble, Representative Katrina Pierson, Representative Keresa Richardson, Representative Matt Shaheen, and other officials.
House Bill 4211 was authored by Representative Candy Noble and Senator Bryan Hughes. It aims to regulate business practices related to housing developments so they do not create discriminatory arrangements or unfair investment opportunities that could negatively impact residents.
