SJR 166--Property rights/ineligible aliens.(Constitutional Amendments)(Brief article)

The equal protection clause in [section] 2, Art. I, State Constitution, generally requires the state to treat everyone equally. However, an exception within the equal protection clause permits the legislature to regulate or prohibit the ownership of property by aliens ineligible for citizenship.

Laws restricting property ownership by aliens ineligible for citizenship originated in the early 1900s. At that time, Asians were ineligible for citiz