ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-sixth Legislature

First Regular Session

House: LARA DP 8-1-0-0

HR2002: securing America's lands; foreign interference

Sponsor: Representative Griffin, LD 19

House Engrossed

Overview

States that the Legislature requests congressional action to prohibit the of the sale of United States land to foreign investors.

History

Foreign Ownership of Private Agricultural Lands

The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 requires all foreign persons to submit a report to the Secretary of Agriculture within 90 days of acquiring or transferring any interest (except for a security interest) in agricultural land. The report must include information about the foreign person involved in the transaction, the type of interest in the agricultural land acquired or transferred, a description of the land, future agricultural plans for the land and the purchase price (7 U.S.C. § 3501). These reports are transmitted to the appropriate state departments of agriculture (7 U.S.C. § 3505). Those who fail to submit an accurate report are subject to a civil penalty of up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the interest in the agricultural land involved in the violation (7 U.S.C. § 3502).

According to the latest report on Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land, foreign persons held an interest in about 40 million acres (or 3.1%) of all privately owned U.S. agricultural lands as of December 31, 2021. In Arizona, 295,876 acres (or 3.8%) of all privately owned agricultural land are held by foreign persons.

Securing America's Land from Foreign Interference Act

The Securing America's Land from Foreign Interference Act was introduced in the United States House of Representatives as H.R. 3487 in 2021. The bill directs the President of the United States to take all necessary actions to prohibit the purchase of public and private real estate in the United States by members of the Chinese Communist Party.

This act was reintroduced as S. 4704 in 2022. In addition to requiring the President to prohibit the purchase of real estate by members of the Chinese Communist Party, this bill also prohibits foreign persons acting on the behalf of the Chinese Communist Party from completing land transactions in the United States. The bill also amends the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 by establishing a minimum civil penalty for failing to comply with the act's reporting requirements through misrepresenting personal information and/or information about the land being purchased. This minimum penalty is 10 percent of the interest in the agricultural land involved in the violation.

Neither H.R. 3487 nor S. 4703 made it out of committee during the congressional session.

 

 

 

☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note

Provisions

1.   States that the Legislature requests congressional enactment of the Securing America's Land from Foreign Interference Act, or similar legislation, to prohibit the sale of United States land to foreign investors. (Sec. 1)

2.   Directs the Arizona Secretary of State to transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and each member of Congress from the State of Arizona. (Sec. 1)

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6.                     HR 2002

7.   Initials PAB/AH     Page 0 House Engrossed

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