Senate Bill 219 aims to tighten restrictions on foreign ownership of agricultural land and real property in Wisconsin. The bill reduces the maximum acreage that covered foreign persons can own from 640 acres to 50 acres of agricultural land and specifies that the limitations now only apply to land classified as agricultural for property tax purposes, excluding forestry land. Additionally, the bill 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%. It also introduces a new provision that prohibits covered foreign persons from acquiring any real property within 10 miles of military installations and establishes a divestiture period of three years for those 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 will be forfeited to the state, with enforcement responsibilities assigned to the attorney general. The bill also allows for exceptions for agricultural research leases and provides a mechanism for divestiture of interests in military property acquired under certain conditions.

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