Bans foreign ownership of agricultural or horticultural land and agricultural woodlands in State.

A169

ASSEMBLY, No. 169

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Assemblyman MICHAEL INGANAMORT

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Auth and Peterson

SYNOPSIS

���� Bans foreign ownership of agricultural or
horticultural land and agricultural woodlands in State.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
concerning the ownership of agricultural and
horticultural land and agricultural woodlands 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 development
areas" means the same as the term is defined in P.L.1983, c.32
(C.4:1C-13).

���� "Agricultural or
horticultural land" means any land actively devoted to agricultural or
horticultural use, any land located in agricultural development areas, any land
subject to an agricultural deed restriction for farmland preservation purposes,
or any land zoned for agricultural or horticultural use regardless of the use
of the land upon the effective date of this act.

���� "Agricultural or
horticultural use" means:� the production of plants, animals, and
agricultural or horticultural products from plants or animals useful to man,
including, but not limited to, forages or sod crops, grains or feed crops, dairy
animals or dairy products, poultry or poultry products, livestock animals,
including beef cattle, sheep, swine, horses, ponies, mules, or goats, and
animal products,� bees or apiary products, or fur animals; aquacultured aquatic
organisms or products; trees or forest products, hops or other crops used in
the production of beer or mead, vegetables or fruits of all kinds, including
grapes, nuts, and berries, or nursery, floral, ornamental, or greenhouse
products; the production, harvesting, storage, grading, packaging, processing, or
wholesale and retail marketing of crops, plants, animals, or other related
commodities; the use of vineyards for the production of wine; the use and
application of techniques and methods related to soil preparation and
management, fertilization, weed, disease or pest control, animal breeding or
grazing, farm waste disposal, irrigation, or drainage and water management; or
any use that meets the requirements and qualifications for payments or other
compensation authorized pursuant to a soil conservation program under an agreement
with an agency of the federal government.

���� "Agricultural
woodlands" means forested acres of land that support an agricultural or
horticultural use, and forested acres of land used in the production of
specialty crops and other products that are:� derived from trees or from the
production and sale of trees and forest products; are subject to a woodland
management plan adopted pursuant to section 3 of the "Farmland Assessment
Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3); or are subject to a forest
stewardship plan adopted pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2009, c.256 (C.13:1L-31).

���� "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 or horticultural land or agricultural woodlands
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 or horticultural
land or agricultural woodlands 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 or horticultural land
or agricultural woodlands, 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 or
horticultural land or agricultural woodlands 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 or horticultural
land or agricultural woodlands in the State upon the effective date of this act
shall sell or otherwise convey the ownership of, or interest in, the
agricultural or horticultural land or agricultural woodlands, as applicable,
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 or
horticultural use or be maintained as agricultural woodlands, as applicable.�
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 or
horticultural land or agricultural woodlands 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 or horticultural use or to be maintained as
agricultural woodlands, as applicable.

���� (2)� Whenever a land
assessment valuation is undertaken in association with a foreign government or
person�s acquisition of agricultural or horticultural land and agricultural
woodlands, 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 or horticultural use or to be
maintained as agricultural woodlands, as applicable.�

���� (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 or
horticultural land or agricultural woodlands 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 or horticultural land or agricultural
woodlands 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 or horticultural
land or agricultural woodlands 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 or horticultural land and agricultural woodlands in the State that
is owned by foreign governments or foreign persons;

���� (2)� the percentage change in
the amount of in-State agricultural or horticultural land and agricultural
woodlands 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 or horticultural
land or agricultural woodlands in the State, by total amount of acreage owned;
and

���� (4)� the purposes for which
agricultural or horticultural land and agricultural woodlands 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 or
horticultural land or agricultural woodlands 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 or horticultural land or agricultural woodlands 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 or
horticultural land or agricultural woodlands 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 or horticultural use or be
maintained as agricultural woodlands, as applicable.

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

���� 1)� a foreign government or
foreign person may acquire agricultural or horticultural land or agricultural
woodlands, 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 the 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 or horticultural use or be maintained as
agricultural woodlands, as applicable; and

���� 2)� the provisions of the bill
would not be applicable to agricultural or horticultural land or agricultural
woodlands acquired by devise or descent or pursuant to a bona fide encumbrance
established on agricultural or horticultural land or agricultural woodlands
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 or horticultural use or maintained as agricultural
woodlands, as applicable.

���� 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 or horticultural land and agricultural woodlands in the State that
is owned by foreign governments or foreign persons;

���� 2)� the percentage change in
the amount of in-State agricultural or horticultural land and agricultural
woodlands 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 or horticultural
land or agricultural woodlands in the State, by total amount of acreage owned;
and

���� 4)� the purposes for which
agricultural or horticultural land and agricultural woodlands 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 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.