Assembly Bill 218 aims to amend existing laws regarding foreign ownership of agricultural land in Wisconsin. The bill significantly reduces the maximum acreage that certain foreign persons can own from 640 acres to 50 acres and narrows the types of land subject to this limitation to only agricultural land, excluding forestry land. It also expands the definition of "covered foreign persons" to include foreign governments and raises the ownership threshold for entities to be classified as foreign-owned from 20% to 25%. Additionally, the bill introduces a new provision that prohibits foreign persons from acquiring any real property within 10 miles of military installations and establishes a divestiture period of three years for covered foreign persons who exceed the acreage limit.

Furthermore, the bill explicitly prohibits foreign adversaries, as defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce, from acquiring any interest in real property in Wisconsin. This includes countries such as China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela. Any interests acquired in violation of this prohibition would be forfeited to the state, with enforcement responsibilities assigned to the attorney general. The bill also allows for exceptions for agricultural research leases and specifies that interests acquired through inheritance or debt collection must be divested within 18 months if they violate the new ownership restrictions.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 710.01, 710.02(title), 710.02