Restricts all ownership of agricultural land in State by foreign governments and persons.

A1191

ASSEMBLY, No. 1191

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman JOHN DIMAIO

District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)

Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Inganamort and Peterson

SYNOPSIS

���� Restricts all ownership of agricultural land in State
by foreign governments and persons.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning the ownership of agricultural land in the
State, and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� As used in this act:

���� "Agricultural land"
means land devoted to agricultural use.

���� "Agricultural use"
means the same as the term is defined in subsection b. of section 3 of
P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-13).

���� "Department" means
the Department of Agriculture.

���� "Foreign government"
means any government other than the government of the United States or of its
states, territories, possessions, or any political subdivision thereof.�
"Foreign government" includes an agent, trustee, or fiduciary thereof,
acting for a foreign government.

���� "Foreign person"
means any individual who is not a citizen of the United States and is a
nonresident alien or a resident alien of the United States or one of its
states, territories, or possessions; any corporation, partnership, association,
or other legal entity created under the laws of a foreign government; or any corporation,
partnership, association, or other legal entity, created under the laws of the
United States or any of its political subdivisions, the majority of the
ownership of which is directly or indirectly held, legally or beneficially, by
one or more foreign governments, by one or more foreign persons, by one or more
legal entities created under the laws of a foreign government, or by any
combination thereof.� �Foreign person� includes an agent, trustee, or fiduciary
thereof, acting for a foreign person.

���� "Secretary" means
the Secretary of Agriculture.

���� 2.� a.� Notwithstanding any
law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, no foreign government or foreign
person shall acquire, purchase, or otherwise obtain a legal, beneficial, or
other interest in any agricultural land in the State on or after the effective
date of this act.

���� b.� Any foreign government or
foreign person owning or holding an interest in agricultural land in the State
upon the effective date of this act may continue to own or hold an interest
therein for a maximum of five years after the effective date of this act, and
shall not acquire, purchase, or otherwise obtain an interest in, any other
agricultural land, in the State, on or after the effective date of this act,
except:

���� (1) pursuant to a process of
law involving the collection of debt the execution of a deed in lieu of
foreclosure, the forfeiture of a contract for deed, or the imposition of a lien
or claim on the land, whether created by a mortgage or otherwise, in which
case, the provisions of subsection d. of this section shall apply; or

���� (2) by devise or descent, or
through the establishment of a bona fide encumbrance on agricultural land taken
for the purposes of security, in which case, the provisions of subsection f. of
this section shall apply.

���� c.� A foreign government or
foreign person owning or holding an interest in agricultural land in the State
upon the effective date of this act shall sell or otherwise convey the
ownership of, or interest in, the agricultural land within five years after the
effective date of this act, with a deed of easement attached to the land
requiring the land to remain devoted to agricultural use.� The land or interest
therein shall be sold or conveyed to an individual, trust, corporation,
partnership, or other business entity that is not a foreign government or
foreign person subject to the provisions of this act.

���� d.� (1)� Agricultural land
that is acquired by a foreign government or foreign person, on or after the
effective date of this act, pursuant to the exception established in paragraph
(1) of subsection b. of this section, shall be sold or conveyed, by the foreign
owner thereof, within two years after title to the land is transferred
thereto.� Upon such sale or conveyance of the land, a deed of easement shall be
attached to the land requiring the land to remain devoted to agricultural use.

���� (2)� Whenever a land
assessment valuation is undertaken in association with a foreign government or
person�s acquisition of agricultural land, pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subsection b. of this section, the valuation of the land shall incorporate and
reflect the requirement that the land is to remain devoted to agricultural
use.�

���� (3)� Land sold or conveyed
pursuant to this subsection shall be sold or conveyed to an individual, trust,
corporation, partnership, or other business entity that is not a foreign
government or foreign person subject to the provisions of this act.

���� e.� A foreign government or
foreign person shall not transfer title or interest in agricultural land to
another foreign government or foreign person, except by devise or descent, as
authorized pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection b. of this section.�

���� f.���� Subsection a. of this
section shall not apply to agricultural land that is acquired, by a foreign
government or foreign person, pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection b. of
this section, through devise or descent or the establishment of a bona fide
encumbrance on agricultural land taken for the purposes of security, including
land for which title has been transferred, pursuant to subsection e. of this
section, from one foreign government or foreign person to another.

���� g.� Any provision of this
section that is inconsistent with, or in violation of, any treaty between the
United States and another country shall not apply to the foreign government or
a foreign person of the country that is party to such treaty.

���� 3.� a.� No later than 90 days
after the effective date of this act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall compile and report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2
of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature:

���� (1) �the total acreage of
agricultural land in the State that is owned by foreign governments or foreign
persons;

���� (2) �the percentage change in
the amount of in-State agricultural land acreage owned by foreign governments
or foreign persons, per year, over the preceding 10 years;

���� (3) �the top 10 nationalities
of foreign governments or foreign persons owning agricultural land in the
State, by total amount of acreage owned; and

���� (4) �the purposes for which
agricultural land owned by foreign governments or foreign persons has been used
in the preceding five years, and any significant changes or trends in the uses
of such land.

���� b.� The secretary may base the
data compiled pursuant to subsection a. of this section on the reports
submitted to the Department of Agriculture, by the United States Department of
Agriculture, pursuant to 7 U.S.C. s.3505, or any other relevant information
available to the department.� The State Agriculture Development Committee and
other State agencies and departments, as well as county boards of agriculture
and other local agencies, boards, or political subdivisions in the State, shall
provide the secretary with any relevant information available to those entities
concerning the data required to be compiled and reported pursuant to subsection
a. of this section.

���� 4.� This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would prohibit any
foreign government or foreign person from acquiring, purchasing, or otherwise
obtaining a legal, beneficial, or other interest in any agricultural land in
the State on or after the bill�s effective date, with limited exceptions, as
described below.

���� The bill would permit a
foreign government or foreign person that already owns or holds an interest in
agricultural land in the State, on the bill�s effective date, to continue to
own or hold the interest in such land for a maximum of five years thereafter.�
Within five years after the bill�s effective date, the foreign government or
foreign person would be required to sell or otherwise convey the ownership of,
or interest in, the agricultural land to an individual, trust, corporation,
partnership, or other business entity that is not a foreign government or
foreign person, with a deed of easement attached to the land requiring the land
to remain devoted to agricultural use.

���� The bill would provide the
following exceptions to the general prohibition on the continued foreign
ownership of agricultural land:

���� 1) �a foreign government or
foreign person may acquire agricultural land, on or after the bill�s effective
date, through a process of law involving the collection of debt, the execution
of a deed in lieu of foreclosure, the forfeiture of a contract for deed, or
imposition of a lien or claim on the land, whether by mortgage or otherwise,
but such person or government would then be required to sell or convey the
land, within two years after the transfer of title thereto, to an individual,
trust, corporation, partnership, or other business entity that is not a foreign
government or foreign person, with a deed of easement attached to the land
requiring the land to remain devoted to agricultural use; and

���� 2) �the provisions of the bill
would not be applicable to agricultural land acquired by devise or descent or
pursuant to a bona fide encumbrance established on agricultural land taken for
the purposes of security.

���� The bill further provides
that, whenever land assessment valuation is undertaken in association with the
acquisition of land by a foreign government or foreign person pursuant to a
process of law involving the collection of debt, the execution of a deed in
lieu of foreclosure, the forfeiture of a contract for deed, or the imposition
of a lien or claim on the land, whether created by a mortgage or otherwise, the
valuation is to incorporate and reflect the fact that the land is to remain
devoted to agricultural use.

���� The bill provides that any
provision of the bill which is inconsistent with, or in violation of, any
treaty between the United States and another country would not apply to any
foreign government or foreign person residing in a country that is party to the
treaty.

���� Finally, the bill requires the
Secretary of Agriculture, no more than 90 days after the effective date of the
bill, and annually thereafter,� to report to the Governor and the Legislature:

���� 1) �the total acreage of
agricultural land in the State that is owned by foreign governments or foreign
persons;

���� 2) �the percentage change in
the amount of in-State agricultural land acreage owned by foreign governments
or foreign persons, per year, over the preceding 10 years;

���� 3) �the top 10 nationalities
of foreign governments or foreign persons owning agricultural land in the
State, by total amount of acreage owned; and

���� 4) �the purposes for which
agricultural land owned by foreign governments or foreign persons has been used
in the preceding five years, and any significant changes or trends in the use
of such land.

���� The bill authorizes the
secretary to base the requisite data on reports that are submitted to the
Department of Agriculture, by the United States Department of Agriculture,
pursuant to federal law, or based on any other relevant information available
to the department.� The bill also directs the State Agriculture Development
Committee and other State agencies and departments, as well as county boards of
agriculture and other local agencies, boards, or political subdivisions in the
State, to provide the secretary with any relevant information available
concerning the data required to be compiled and reported by the bill.