Senate Bill 219 aims to tighten restrictions on foreign ownership of agricultural land in Wisconsin. The bill repeals certain provisions of current law and introduces new limitations, specifically reducing the maximum amount of agricultural land that a covered foreign person can own from 640 acres to 50 acres. It also specifies that the acreage limit applies only to land classified as agricultural for property tax purposes, eliminating broad exceptions that previously allowed foreign persons to acquire unlimited amounts of land for non-agricultural purposes. Additionally, the bill increases the threshold for an entity to be classified as a foreign-owned entity or a foreign beneficiary trust from 20% to 25% ownership by nonresident aliens or foreign entities.

Furthermore, the bill prohibits covered foreign persons from acquiring any real property within 10 miles of military installations and outright bans foreign adversaries, as defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce, from owning any real property in the state. The divestiture period for foreign persons who exceed the acreage limit is reduced from four years to three years, and any interests acquired in violation of the bill are forfeited to the state. The attorney general is tasked with enforcement of these provisions.

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