Sponsored by:
Senator DOUGLAS J. STEINHARDT
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits ownership of certain protected land adjacent to military facilities in State by certain foreign governments and persons.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the ownership of certain protected land adjacent to military facilities in the State and supplementing chapter 3 of Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Foreign government" means any government other than the government of the United States or of its states, territories, possessions, or any political subdivision thereof that is subject, or military companies of which are subject, to official sanctions of the government of the United States. "Foreign government" includes an agent, trustee, or fiduciary thereof, acting for a foreign government.
"Foreign person" means any individual who is not a citizen of the United States, is not an alien friend as provided in R.S.46:3-18, and is a nonresident alien of the United States or one of its states, territories, or possessions; any corporation, partnership, association, or other legal entity created under the laws of a foreign government; or any corporation, partnership, association, or other legal entity, created under the laws of the United States or any of its political subdivisions, the majority of the ownership of which is directly or indirectly held, legally or beneficially, by one or more foreign governments, by one or more foreign persons, by one or more legal entities created under the laws of a foreign government, or by any combination thereof. "Foreign person" includes an agent, trustee, or fiduciary thereof, acting for a foreign person.
"Military facility" means any facility located within the State that is owned or operated by the federal government, and which is used for the purposes of providing logistical, technical, material, training, or any other support to any branch of the United States military.
"Protected land" means any parcel of land for which any portion of the parcel is located within 10 miles of a military facility.
2. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, no foreign government or foreign person shall acquire, purchase, or otherwise obtain a legal, beneficial, or other interest in any protected land in the State on or after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. Any foreign government or foreign person owning or holding an interest in protected land in the State upon the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) may continue to own or hold an interest in protected land for a maximum of five years after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and shall not acquire, purchase, or otherwise obtain an interest in, any other protected land, in the State, on or after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), except:
(1) pursuant to a process of law involving the collection of debt the execution of a deed in lieu of foreclosure, the forfeiture of a contract for deed, or the imposition of a lien or claim on the land, whether created by a mortgage or otherwise, in which case, the provisions of subsection d. of this section shall apply; or
(2) by devise or descent, or through the establishment of a bona fide encumbrance on protected land taken for the purposes of security, in which case, the provisions of subsection f. of this section shall apply.
c. A foreign government or foreign person owning or holding an interest in protected land in the State upon the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall sell or otherwise convey the ownership of, or interest in, the protected land within five years after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The land or interest therein shall be sold or conveyed to an individual, trust, corporation, partnership, or other business entity that is not a foreign government or foreign person subject to the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
d. (1) Protected land that is acquired by a foreign government or foreign person, on or after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), pursuant to the exception established in paragraph (1) of subsection b. of this section, shall be sold or conveyed, by the foreign owner thereof, within two years after title to the land is transferred thereto.
(2) Land sold or conveyed in accordance with this subsection shall be sold or conveyed to an individual, trust, corporation, partnership, or other business entity that is not a foreign government or foreign person subject to the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
e. Any provision of this section that is inconsistent with, or in violation of, any treaty between the United States and another country shall not apply to the foreign government or a foreign person of the country that is party to such treaty.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits sanctioned foreign governments and certain foreign persons from acquiring, purchasing, or otherwise obtaining a legal, beneficial, or other interest in any protected land in the State on or after the bills effective date, with limited exceptions, as described below. Under the bill, protected land includes certain parcels of land located within 10 miles of a military facility.
The bill permits impacted foreign governments and foreign persons that already own or hold an interest in protected land in the State, on the bills effective date, to continue to own or hold the interest in such land for a maximum of five years thereafter. Within five years after the bills effective date, the foreign government or foreign person would be required to sell or otherwise convey the ownership of, or interest in, the protected land to an individual, trust, corporation, partnership, or other business entity.
The bill provides the following exceptions to the general prohibition on the continued foreign ownership of protected land:
1) a foreign government or foreign person may acquire protected land, on or after the bills effective date, through a process of law involving the collection of debt, the execution of a deed in lieu of foreclosure, the forfeiture of a contract for deed, or the imposition of a lien or claim on the land, whether by mortgage or otherwise, but such person or government would then be required to sell or convey the land, within two years after the transfer of title thereto, to an individual, trust, corporation, partnership, or other business entity that is not prohibited from owning protected land; and
2) the provisions of the bill would not be applicable to protected land acquired by devise or descent or pursuant to a bona fide encumbrance established on protected land taken for the purposes of security.<