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House
File
2740
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
2740
BY
SCHOLTEN
,
RAMIREZ
,
BAETH
,
KONFRST
,
BROWN-POWERS
,
COOLING
,
WILBURN
,
LEVIN
,
B.
MEYER
,
BAGNIEWSKI
,
KRESSIG
,
JACOBY
,
CROKEN
,
MADISON
,
McBURNEY
,
EHLERT
,
R.
JOHNSON
,
GOSA
,
GJERDE
,
OLSON
,
KURTH
,
WESSEL-KROESCHELL
,
TUREK
,
and
JAMES
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
the
confidentiality
of
certain
information
1
filed
with
the
secretary
of
state
by
foreign
persons
holding
2
agricultural
land.
3
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
4
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Section
1.
Section
9I.7,
unnumbered
paragraph
1,
Code
2026,
1
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
2
A
nonresident
alien,
foreign
business,
or
foreign
3
government,
or
an
agent,
trustee,
or
fiduciary
thereof,
which
4
that
owns
an
interest
in
agricultural
land
within
this
state
on
5
or
after
January
1,
1980,
shall
register
the
agricultural
land
6
with
the
secretary
of
state.
The
registration
shall
be
made
7
within
sixty
days
after
January
1,
1980,
or
within
sixty
days
8
after
acquiring
the
land
or
the
interest
in
land,
whichever
is
9
later.
The
registration
shall
be
made
online
or
in
the
form
10
and
manner
prescribed
by
the
secretary
of
state.
Information
11
described
in
this
section
is
a
confidential
record
and
subject
12
to
use
in
the
same
manner
as
provided
in
section
10B.5.
As
part
13
of
the
registration,
the
nonresident
alien,
foreign
business,
14
or
foreign
government,
or
an
agent,
trustee,
or
fiduciary
15
thereof,
shall
file
all
of
the
following
information:
16
Sec.
2.
Section
10B.5,
subsection
2,
Code
2026,
is
amended
17
to
read
as
follows:
18
2.
Information
Except
as
provided
in
section
10B.5A,
19
information
in
reports
required
in
this
chapter
is
a
20
confidential
record
as
provided
in
section
22.7
.
The
attorney
21
general
may
have
access
to
the
reports,
and
may
use
information
22
in
the
reports
in
any
action
to
enforce
state
law,
including
23
but
not
limited
to
chapters
9H
and
9I
.
The
reports
shall
24
be
made
available
to
members
of
the
general
assembly
and
25
appropriate
committees
of
the
general
assembly
in
order
to
26
determine
the
extent
that
agricultural
land
is
held
in
this
27
state
by
corporations
and
other
business
and
foreign
entities
28
and
the
effect
of
such
land
ownership
upon
the
economy
of
this
29
state.
The
secretary
of
state
shall
assist
any
committee
of
30
the
general
assembly
studying
these
issues.
31
Sec.
3.
Section
10B.5A,
Code
2026,
is
amended
to
read
as
32
follows:
33
10B.5A
Annual
summary
to
governor
and
general
assembly
——
34
foreign
landholdings
.
35
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The
secretary
of
state
shall
prepare
an
annual
summary
of
1
foreign
landholding.
The
summary
must
be
a
report
summarizing
2
the
compiled
information
included
in
the
current
registrations
3
filed
pursuant
to
section
9I.7
and
the
last
reports
filed
4
pursuant
to
section
10B.4
.
The
information
is
a
confidential
5
record
as
provided
in
section
22.7
.
The
attorney
general
may
6
have
access
to
the
annual
summary
and
may
use
information
7
in
the
annual
summary
in
any
action
to
enforce
state
law,
8
including
but
not
limited
to
chapters
9H
and
9I
,
and
this
9
chapter
.
The
annual
summary
shall
be
made
available
to
the
10
governor,
members
of
the
general
assembly,
and
appropriate
11
committees
of
the
general
assembly
in
order
to
determine
the
12
extent
that
agricultural
land
is
held
in
this
state
by
foreign
13
entities
and
the
effect
of
such
land
ownership
upon
the
economy
14
of
this
state.
Upon
request,
the
secretary
of
state
shall
15
assist
any
committee
of
the
general
assembly
studying
these
16
issues.
17
EXPLANATION
18
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
19
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
20
BILL’S
PROVISIONS.
This
bill
provides
that
information
in
a
21
registration
required
to
be
filed
by
a
foreign
person
holding
22
agricultural
land
in
this
state
and
a
summary
report
by
the
23
secretary
of
state
(secretary)
of
compiled
information
included
24
in
the
last
registrations
and
biennial
reports
filed
by
foreign
25
persons
is
no
longer
confidential.
26
BACKGROUND
——
RESTRICTIONS
UPON
A
FOREIGN
PERSON
HOLDING
27
AN
INTEREST
IN
AGRICULTURAL
LAND.
Code
chapter
9I
restricts
28
certain
foreign
persons
from
acquiring
or
holding
a
legal
29
interest
in
agricultural
land
suitable
for
farming
if
the
30
agricultural
land
was
acquired
on
or
after
January
1,
1980
31
(Code
section
9I.3).
Certain
exceptions
apply.
However,
32
generally
a
foreign
person
must
convert
the
agricultural
land
33
to
a
purpose
other
than
farming
within
five
years.
A
foreign
34
person
includes
a
foreign
business
(e.g.,
a
corporation
formed
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in
another
country),
a
foreign
government,
or
a
nonresident
1
alien
(not
a
United
States
citizen
or
a
person
admitted
for
2
permanent
residence
in
the
United
States).
The
restriction
3
also
applies
to
an
authorized
representative
acting
on
behalf
4
of
the
foreign
person
as
an
agent,
trustee,
or
fiduciary.
5
BACKGROUND
——
REGISTRATION
AND
REPORTING
REQUIREMENTS.
A
6
foreign
person
acquiring
an
interest
in
agricultural
land
7
must
register
with
the
secretary
(Code
section
9I.7).
The
8
registration
must
include
information
regarding
the
foreign
9
person
and
the
person’s
agricultural
landholdings.
The
foreign
10
person
is
also
required
to
file
a
biennial
report
with
the
11
secretary,
which
must
include
updates
to
the
information
12
stated
in
the
person’s
latest
filed
registration
(Code
section
13
10B.4).
The
report
must
also
include
detailed
information
14
regarding
the
agricultural
land
held
by
the
foreign
person.
15
The
secretary
must
prepare
an
annual
summary
report
of
the
16
compiled
information
included
in
the
last
filed
registrations
17
and
biennial
reports
(Code
section
10B.5A).
Information
18
included
in
the
registrations,
reports,
and
summary
report
is
19
confidential
notwithstanding
Iowa’s
open
records
law
(Code
20
chapter
22).
However,
the
secretary’s
summary
report
must
21
be
made
available
to
the
governor
and
members
of
the
general
22
assembly.
23
BACKGROUND
——
ENFORCEMENT
AND
PENALTIES.
The
attorney
24
general
may
conduct
an
inquiry
or
investigation
regarding
25
an
alleged
violation
of
a
registration
requirement
(Code
26
section
9I.10)
or
the
biennial
reporting
requirement
(Code
27
section
10B.4).
A
foreign
person
who
fails
to
file
a
28
timely
registration
is
subject
to
a
penalty
of
not
more
than
29
25
percent
of
the
county’s
assessed
value
of
the
subject
30
agricultural
land
for
the
previous
year
for
each
offense
(Code
31
section
9I.12).
A
foreign
person
who
fails
to
file
a
biennial
32
report
is
subject
to
a
civil
penalty
of
up
to
$10,000
(Code
33
section
10B.6).
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