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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 1705
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE CHRISTENSEN.
3966H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal section 442.571, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to
foreign ownership of agricultural land.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 442.571, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as section 442.571, to read as follows:
442.571. 1. Except as provided in sections 442.586 and 442.591, [ no alien or foreign
2 business shall acquire by grant, purchase, devise, descent or otherwise agricultural land in this
3 state if the total aggregate alien and foreign ownership of agricultural acreage in this state
4 exceeds one percent of the total aggregate agricultural acreage in this state. A sale or transfer
5 of any agricultural land in this state shall be submitted to the director of the department of
6 agriculture for review in accordance with subsection 3 of this section only if there is no
7 completed Internal Revenue Service Form W -9 signed by the purchaser ] beginning August
8 28, 2026, no alien or for eign business shall acquire by grant, purch ase, devise, descent,
9 or otherwise any agricultural land in this state. Any alien or for eign business who
10 acquir ed any agricultural land in this state prior to August 28, 2026, shall not grant, sell,
11 or otherwise transfer such agricultural land to any other alien or for eign business on or
12 after August 28, 2026 . No person may hold agricultural land as an agent, trustee, or other
13 fiduciary for an alien or foreign business in violation of sections 442.560 to 442.592,
14 provided, however , that no security interest in such agricultural land shall be divested or
15 invalidated by such violation.
16 2. Any alien or foreign business who acquires agricultural land in violation of
17 sections 442.560 to 442.592 remains in violation of sections 442.560 to 442.592 for as long as
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
18 [ he or she ] the alien or for eign business holds an interest in the land, provided, however , that
19 no security interest in such agricultural land shall be divested or invalidated by such violation.
20 3. Subject to the provisions of subsection 1 of this section, [ such ] all proposed
21 [ acquisitions ] transfers on or after August 28, 2026, by grant, purchase, devise, descent, or
22 otherwise of any interes t in agricultural land held by any alien or for eign business in this
23 state shall be submitted to the department of agriculture to determine whether such
24 [ acquisition ] transfer of agricultural land is conveyed in accordance with the [ one percent
25 restriction on the total aggregate ] pr ohibition on alien and foreign ownership of agricultural
26 land in this state under this section . The department shall establish by rule the requirements
27 for submission and approval of requests under this subsection.
28 4. (1) A for eign business that holds any interes t in agricultural land shall divest
29 such inter est in such agricultural land before August 28, 2031.
30 (2) The department of agricultur e shall:
31 (a) Compile a list of agricultural land in which a for eign business holds an
32 inter est;
33 (b) Notify each such for eign business before January 1, 2027, that such for eign
34 business is req uire d under this section to divest any interes t in agricultural land before
35 August 28, 2031, and that failur e to divest such interes t shall be repo rted as a violation
36 under section 442.576;
37 (c) T rack the divesting of all inter ests in agricultural land listed under this
38 subsection; and
39 (d) On August 28, 2031, repo rt any failur e to divest such inter est as a violation
40 under section 442.576.
41 (3) This subsection shall not be construed to requi re any for eign business to
42 divest such inter est in agricultural land for less than fair market value.
43 (4) No for eign business holding an interes t in agricultural land that appears on
44 the department's list compiled under subdivision (2) of this subsection shall be r eported
45 for a violation under section 442.576 unless such for eign business fails to divest and
46 continues to hold such interes t on August 28, 2031.
47 5. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is
48 created under the authority delegated in this section shall become ef fective only if it complies
49 with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028.
50 This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the
51 general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review , to delay the ef fective date, or to
52 disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of
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53 rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2014, shall be invalid
54 and void.
✔
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