SPONSOR: Irwin
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass" by the Special Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs by a vote of 9 to 1.
Currently, foreign ownership of agricultural land may not exceed 1% of the total agricultural land in the State. This bill reduces the percentage to 0.5% and requires any sale or transfer of such land by an alien or foreign business to be reported, as defined in the bill, to the Department of Agriculture and the Attorney General 30 days prior to when the sale or transfer is finalized. The Attorney General must review and approve or reject any sale or transfer as provided in the bill within the 30 days or the sale or transfer is considered to meet the necessary requirements.
The Department and the Attorney General must review the transactions and investigate acquisitions of agricultural land if the Attorney General believes the acquisition violates these prohibitions. An alien or foreign business that owns or acquires agricultural land must report the status of the usage of such land at intervals established in the bill. If there is a change in land usage, that change must be reported to the Department and the Attorney General within 30 days. Land acquired in violation is subject to court action and divestiture. The limitations on percentage of acreage that an alien or foreign business can acquire do not apply to certain land used for research or experimental purposes.
The bill also prohibits a foreign business from a foreign adversary, as identified by the Federal government, from purchasing any land in the State. Violations of this prohibition must be reported to the Attorney General and adhere to the requirements of the USA Patriot Act of 2001.
The bill adds the Attorney General, in addition to the Department, to all requirements for enforcement and reporting relating to agricultural land owned by foreign entities.
This bill is the same as HCS HB 1957 (2024) and similar to HB 903 (2023).
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that different foreign entities are trying to buy Missouri land. This is another tool to let the Attorney General divest China of land they own in Missouri. Though we have important ties to our international allies like Britain, it is essential to our security and prosperity that Missouri land is owned by Missourians and not our enemies. Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Irwin; State Armor Action; State Shield Action; Arnie Dienoff; Michael Haffner; Missouri Farm Bureau.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: