This bill amends several sections of the North Dakota Century Code to address the involvement of foreign countries and organizations of concern in real property ownership and development within the state. It prohibits boards of county and city commissioners from entering into development agreements with foreign adversaries or organizations of concern. The bill also establishes criteria under which a foreign organization of concern may possess an interest in real property, including being a duly registered business in good standing for at least seven years, having approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and maintaining an active national security agreement with the federal government.

Additionally, the bill introduces new reporting requirements for foreign persons investing in agricultural lands, mandating that they file reports with the agriculture commissioner and providing for an annual report to the legislative management. A civil penalty of up to twenty-five percent of the fair market value of the ownership interest in agricultural land is imposed for failure to comply with reporting requirements. The bill also repeals a previous section related to required filings for foreign investments in agricultural lands and includes a contingent effective date for the repeal based on the status of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978.

Statutes affected:
INTRODUCED: 11-11-70, 40-05-26, 47-01-09, 47-10.1-05