MS Foreign Land Ownership Act; revise to grant management to the MS Department of Agriculture.

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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Arnold

HOUSE BILL NO. 10

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 89-27-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WITH OVERSIGHT FOR "THE 2
MISSISSIPPI FOREIGN LAND OWNERSHIP ACT"; TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL 3
PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE FOR THE 4
DISTRIBUTION OF PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LAND; 5
TO AMEND SECTION 89-27-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THE 6
AUTHORITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO MANAGE THE ACT; TO 7
BRING FORWARD SECTION 89-7-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH 8
PROVIDES DEFINITIONS FOR THE ACT, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; TO 9
BRING FORWARD SECTION 89-7-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH 10
PROVIDES REAL ESTATE DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS, FOR PURPOSES OF 11
AMENDMENT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 89-7-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 12
1972, WHICH PROVIDES LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR DUTY TO 13
INVESTIGATE WHETHER LAND IS PURCHASED BY A NONRESIDENT ALIEN; AND 14
FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 15
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 16
SECTION 1. Section 89-27-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 17
amended as follows: 18
89-27-7. (1) The Mississippi Office of the * * * Department 19
of Agriculture shall be charged with the oversight of this 20
chapter. Upon notice of a violation of the provisions herein, 21
the * * * Department of Agriculture shall issue a formal demand on 22
the nonresident alien requiring the nonresident alien to comply 23
herein within the time and manner prescribed. If the provisions 24
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of this chapter are silent to the time period a nonresident alien 25
has to dispose of acquired forest or agricultural land within the 26
State of Mississippi, or to bring the interest of a nonresident 27
alien, which is held in a corporation, partnership, limited 28
partnership, limited liability company, trustee or other business 29
entity, below a majority interest, the time to comply shall be set 30
at one (1) year. Failure to comply with the disposition of forest 31
or agricultural land within the State of Mississippi after 32
receiving notice shall trigger the * * * Department of Agriculture 33
or his or her agent to formally notify the Attorney General with a 34
specific request for enforcement actions to begin. 35
(2) Upon notification received by the Attorney General, the 36
nonresident alien shall be issued fines in the amount as set forth 37
below: 38
First Offense......................... $ 100,000.00 - $250,000.00 39
Second Offense........................ $ 250,000.00 - $750,000.00 40
Third and Subsequent Offense.......... $ 750,000.00 - $5,000,000.00 41
Fines shall be payable within thirty (30) days of the date of 42
institution of the fine and shall be filed on the judgment rolls 43
of the county where the property is located. Following the 44
conclusion of the thirty-day period, the Attorney General shall 45
begin the judicial taking of the property by filing a civil 46
forfeiture action in the Chancery Court where the property is so 47
located or in the Hinds County Chancery Court, whichever is 48
convenient to the State of Mississippi. The entry of the final 49
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order of civil forfeiture shall extinguish the lien of the fine on 50
the property, but shall not extinguish the fine on the nonresident 51
alien. No mortgage, lien, privilege or other security interest 52
recognized under the laws of this state and no ownership interest 53
in division, lease, servitude, usufruct, right to use, bond or 54
deed or other real rights shall be affected by a forfeiture or 55
disposition pursuant to this section. 56
(3) (a) The Attorney General shall promptly record a copy 57
of the following in the land records of the county in which the 58
agricultural land is located: (i) the notice of pendency of an 59
action and (ii) the order for the sale of the agricultural land as 60
provided by this section. 61
(b) The proceeds of the sale of agricultural land by 62
judicial taking authorized by this section shall be disbursed to 63
lien holders, in the order of priority, except for liens which 64
under the terms of the sale are to remain on the agricultural 65
land. 66
(4) In addition the penalties provided in this section, any 67
non-resident alien owning forest and agricultural land in 68
violation of Section 89-27-5 after the July 1, 2024, shall be 69
guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be fined no less 70
than Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00). 71
( * * *5) The * * * Department of Agriculture, in 72
consultation with the Attorney General, shall promulgate rules and 73
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regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of this 74
chapter. 75
SECTION 2. Section 89-27-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 76
amended as follows: 77
89-27-5. (1) A nonresident alien may acquire a possessory 78
interest in forest or agricultural land by devise or inheritance, 79
as security for indebtedness, in the collection of debts or by any 80
procedure for the enforcement of a lien or claim thereon, whether 81
created by mortgage or otherwise. 82
(2) Any such possessory interest in forest or agricultural 83
land acquired by a nonresident alien in the collection of debts or 84
by any procedure for the enforcement of a lien or claim thereon 85
shall be disposed of within two (2) years after acquiring such 86
possessory interest. 87
(3) Any such possessory interest in forest or agricultural 88
land acquired by a nonresident alien by devise or inheritance 89
shall be disposed of within one (1) year after acquiring such 90
possessory interest. 91
(4) A nonresident alien that acquires a possessory interest 92
in forest or agricultural land pursuant to subsection (1) of this 93
section may avoid disposing of such interest if, within the time 94
required for disposal, such nonresident alien terminates said 95
nonresident alien status or disposes of such shared interest as to 96
no longer retain the majority part of interest thereof. 97
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(5) Ownership of a majority part or majority interest in 98
forest or agricultural land by a nonresident alien, outside of the 99
provisions allowed by subsections (1) through (4) of this section, 100
shall be prohibited. Failure to comply with the provisions of 101
this section shall trigger the * * * Department of Agriculture to 102
issue a formal demand with notice of the violation to the 103
nonresident alien. Failure to comply with the disposition of 104
forest or agricultural land within the State of Mississippi after 105
receiving notice shall trigger the * * * Department of Agriculture 106
to formally notify the Attorney General with a specific request 107
for enforcement actions to begin. 108
SECTION 3. Section 89-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 109
brought forward as follows: 110
89-7-3. A tenant shall not be bound to pay rent for 111
buildings after their destruction by fire or otherwise, nor shall 112
a covenant or promise by a lessee to leave or restore the premises 113
in good repair have the effect to bind him to erect or pay for 114
such buildings as may be so destroyed, unless in respect to the 115
matters aforesaid there was negligence or fault on his part, or 116
unless he has expressly stipulated to be so bound. 117
SECTION 4. Section 89-7-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 118
brought forward as follows: 119
89-7-9. When a tenant for life who shall have demised lands, 120
shall die on or after the day when any rent became payable, his 121
executor or administrator may recover from the under-tenant the 122
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ST: MS Foreign Land Ownership Act; revise to
grant management to the MS Department of
Agriculture.
whole rent due; and if he die before the day when any rent is to 123
become due, he may recover the proportion of the rent which 124
accrued before the time of the death of the tenant. The tenant 125
for the life of another, his executor or administrator, in case of 126
the death of the person for whose life the estate is held, on or 127
before the day when any rent shall become due shall have like 128
remedy; and a like apportionment shall be made in the case of 129
annuities. 130
SECTION 5. Section 89-7-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 131
brought forward as follows: 132
89-7-11. If a person lease his land and die, the rent to 133
accrue for the land during the year of his death shall be payable 134
to the personal representative of the decedent, who shall have the 135
same remedy therefor as the decedent would have had if he had 136
lived. 137
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from 138
and after July 1, 2026. 139