On Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environmental Committee approved a bill prohibiting the foreign acquisition of land by adversarial nations.
Prohibit Foreign Ownership of NC Land (SB 394) is sponsored by Sens. Bob Brinson, R-Craven, Timothy Moffitt, R-Henderson, and Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck. The bill was voted on favorably by the committee.
“The key purpose of this bill is to both safeguard our agriculture integrity and to protect our national security,” explained Brinson. “This is a state effort to protect national security because food security is national security. This will ensure that North Carolina farmland does not come under international adversarial control and also prevent adversarial nations from acquiring land near sensitive military installations.”
The bill prohibits land acquisition by adversarial nations outlined in the bill: China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia, or entities they control. It blocks these foreign entities from owning agricultural lands and lands within 25 miles of a military installation or areas designated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as special-use airspace.
Entities currently owning restricted land before the bill’s effective date must register their holdings with the secretary of state and the attorney general. Foreign entities that acquire restricted land after the bill takes effect are required to divest the property within three years.
The bill also introduces a new deed requirement that mandates an affidavit affirming that the buyer is in compliance and is not affiliated with any prohibited foreign entities. The affidavit is already a standard practice for mortgage loans.
This measure strengthens national security by helping to deter surveillance and espionage activities near critical military sites such as Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune, sponsors said. It also protects the state’s agricultural sector, a significant part of the economy, from market control and foreign manipulation. Lastly, supporters say the bill promotes transparency by strengthening public documentation on land ownership related to foreign interests.
Brinson said he is not aware of any opposition to the bill, but the North Carolina Bar Association and Office of the Registers of Deeds have asked him questions concerning its implementation. He said he is committed to working through concerns and amendments as the bill proceeds to the judiciary committee.
“The General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest for the State to guard its agricultural land and military installations from the potential of adversarial government control in order to ensure that the State’s farmers are able to ensure a safe, abundant and affordable supply of food and fiber and affordable supply of food and fiber and to protect our national security for the benefit of the people of this state and the United States,” reads the bill.
The prohibition does not include legal US residents who also have Chinese citizenship; Sen. Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake, raised the concern, as Wake County has many Chinese American citizens.
Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake, expressed concerns about how this bill would impact Smithfield Foods, now an independent subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate the WH Group. The bill would have minimal impact on the company because existing land holdings are provided for within the bill, and they only have to be registered with the secretary of state and attorney general. Additional land acquisitions would be prohibited. It was pointed out that many of Smithfield’s growers are North Carolinians, so this has not been an issue yet.
Sen. Julie Mayfield, D-Buncombe, addressed concerns about a provision in the bill requiring the Registers of Deeds office to document the citizenship of both parties to any property transaction, not just transactions addressed by the legislation. It was clarified that while this is, in fact, correct, it is not an enforcement mechanism but a public record transaction mechanism.
The bill will “protect North Carolina’s farmland, strengthen our national security, and ensure that our critical resources remain in trusted hands,” according to Brinson.
SB 394 received a favorable report and advanced to the Senate Judiciary Committee.