Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation cracking down on Floridians’ surrogacy contracts signed with citizens of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria.
DeSantis signed HB 905 — a partisan bill that advanced hours before Sine Die during the Regular 2026 Session — during a news conference in Miami.
“A gestational surrogacy contract executed in violation of this paragraph is void and unenforceable,” according to the new Florida law that takes effect July 1 to ban surrogacy agreements with “foreign countries of concern.”
“China ships people here for birth,” DeSantis said as GOP leaders called the issue a national security threat. “It’s really a seedy thing.”
Recent news reports have covered cases where some Chinese nationals had multiple children via surrogacy. One Chinese national was father to more than 100 children in the United States, according to a 2025 Wall Street Journal story.
“We’re hoping that the Supreme Court is going to interpret the 14th Amendment so that we can put a stop to some of the people that are coming here for a month, having birth and then going back to China. That’s part of an operation,” DeSantis said. “Why would we let that happen and grant citizenship under those circumstances?”
The 19-page law included other provisions aimed at curbing foreign government influence in Florida institutions.
DeSantis said the new law is important to protect Florida as he pointed to the state’s 21 military installations
“We, of course, are a target here in the state of Florida from foreign espionage,” DeSantis said. “The CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria as well as (Nicolás) Maduro’s Venezuela, those are the countries that we’ve been concerned about.”
The new law strengthens ethics laws by prohibiting public officials, government employees, candidates and local government attorneys from soliciting or accepting gifts from entities representing foreign countries of concern or designated foreign terrorist organizations. People who break the law will face enhanced penalties and be required to repay twice the value of any financial benefit received.
HB 905 also prohibits state agencies, local governments and publicly funded schools from entering agreements or accepting grants from foreign countries of concern or entities controlled by them.
The measure also expands training requirements for public officials by directing the Florida Commission on Ethics to develop updated coursework addressing foreign influence.
The new law also allows local governments and Tax Collectors to revoke business tax receipts for businesses operating in Cuba in violation of federal law.
“It creates accountability for false declarations regarding business activities in Cuba,” DeSantis said.
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Jesse Mendoza of Florida Politics contributed to this report.
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