Personal Property of Foreign Adversaries

2025-2026 Bill 1065: Personal Property of Foreign Adversaries - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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S. 1065
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Climer, Johnson and Stubbs
Document Path: SJ-0016PB26.docx
Introduced in the Senate on March 26, 2026
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on
Education
Summary: Personal Property of Foreign Adversaries
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

3/26/2026

Senate

Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 10
)

3/26/2026

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Education
(
Senate Journal-page 10
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
03/26/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION
1-1-2010
SO AS TO PROHIBIT OWNERSHIP OR CONTROL OF TANGIBLE OR INTANGIBLE
PROPERTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA BY ALIENS OR PERSONS AFFILIATED WITH FOREIGN
ADVERSARIES, FOREIGN TERRORISTS, OR TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS; BY
ADDING SECTION
1-1-2020
SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE GOVERNOR TO IDENTIFY FOREIGN
ADVERSARIES, FOREIGN TERRORISTS, OR TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS
IMPACTING SOUTH CAROLINA; BY ADDING SECTION
14-1-75
SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT COURTS
NOT USE SHARIA LAW IN MAKING JUDICIAL DECISIONS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION
27-13-30
, RELATING TO LIMITATION ON ALIEN LAND OWNERSHIP, SO AS TO PROHIBIT
ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY BY ALIENS OR PERSONS AFFILIATED WITH FOREIGN
ADVERSARIES, FOREIGN TERRORISTS, OR TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS AND TO
PROVIDE FOR DIVESTING SUCH PERSONS OF THEIR REAL PROPERTY.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
C
hapter 1, Title 1 of the S.C. Code is amended by
adding:

A
rticle 29

P
rohibition of Ownership or Control of Property by
Aliens or Persons Affiliated with Foreign Adversaries, Foreign Terrorists, or
Transnational Criminal Organizations

S
ection
1-1-2010
.
(
A) For the purposes of
this section:

(
1)
"Acquire" means buy, purchase, sell, own, lease, hold, or exercise control over
tangible or intangible property on, before, or after the effective date of this
section.

(
2)
"Affiliated" means belongs to, is connected with, is a member of, represents,
or acts on behalf of a foreign adversary, a foreign terrorist organization, or
a transnational criminal organization.

(
3)
"Alien" means a person who is not a citizen of or a lawful permanent resident
of the United States.

(
4)
"Foreign adversary" means any foreign government or nongovernment person
determined by the United States Secretary of Commerce to have engaged in a
long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the
national security of the United States or the security and safety of United
States citizens.

(
5)
"Foreign law" means any law, rule, or legal code or system used or applied by
another jurisdiction outside the United States or its territories and includes,
but is not limited to, Sharia law.

(
6)
"Foreign terrorist organization" means an entity designated by the:

(
a)
United States Secretary of State in accordance with Section 219 of the
Immigration and Nationalization Act, 8 United States Code § 1189, as amended,
or

(
b)
Governor of South Carolina as provided in Section
1-1-2020
.

(
7)
"Intangible property" means all property other than tangible property that is
based in, established in, or the source for its existence is located in South
Carolina including, but not being limited to, copyrights, trademarks, money,
bank deposits, shares of stock, bonds, credits, evidences of debt, choses in
action, or evidences of an interest in property.

(
8)
"Person" means an individual, member, group, organization, corporation, and any
other entity that has the authority to acquire real property.

(
9)
"Tangible property" means real property and corporeal personal property located
in South Carolina but does not include money, bank deposits, shares of stock,
bonds, credits, evidences of debt, choses in action, or evidences of an
interest in property.

(
10)
"Transnational criminal organization" means a group that conducts illegal
activities including, but not limited to, drug trafficking, human trafficking,
money laundering, and cybercrime across multiple countries.

(
B) An
alien or a person affiliated with a foreign adversary, a foreign terrorist
organization, or a transnational criminal organization:

(
1)
may not acquire any interest in any tangible or intangible property within the
limits of this State on and after the effective date of this section; and

(
2)
must be divested of any tangible or intangible property within the limits of
this State that the alien or person affiliated with a foreign adversary, a
foreign terrorist organization, or a transnational criminal organization has
acquired.

(
C) On
and after the effective date of this section, any tangible or intangible
property acquired in this State by an alien or person affiliated with a foreign
adversary, a foreign terrorist organization, or a transnational criminal
organization is, without benefit of compensation or access to the process of
eminent domain, forfeited to the State or, in the case of a lease, returned to
the United States citizen owning the property.

(
D)
The Attorney General's office, the South Carolina Law Division (SLED), and
state and local law enforcement are empowered:

(
1)
to locate and remove aliens and persons prohibited from having tangible or
intangible property interests as provided in this section; and

(
2)
to report and deliver those aliens and persons to United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement or any other appropriate law enforcement agency.

(
E)
(
1) A court, arbitrator, administrative
agency, or other adjudicative, mediative, or enforcement authority may not
enforce a foreign law that contravenes the provisions of this section.

(
2)
If a contractual provision or agreement providing for choice of foreign law
contravenes the provisions of this section, it must be modified or declared
void to uphold and preserve the prohibitions in this section.

S
ection
1-1-2020
.
(
A) By executive order,
the Governor, after consultation with the Attorney General and the Chief of the
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), may for purposes of Sections
1-1-2010
and
27-13-30
:

(
1)
determine whether an alien or person acquiring, buying, purchasing, selling,
owning, leasing, holding, or exercising control over tangible or intangible
property in this State poses a risk to national security or the public; and

(
2)
designate a country, foreign adversary, foreign terrorist organization, or
transnational criminal organization as prohibited from acquiring, buying,
selling, owning, leasing, holding, or exercising control over tangible or
intangible property in this State.

(
B) A
Governor may remove a designation by executive order.

(
C) The
designation or removal applies only to the acquisition of an interest in real
property during the time when the Governor's executive order is in effect.

S
ECTION 2.
C
hapter 1, Title 14 of the S.C. Code is amended by
adding:

S
ection
14-1-75
. The courts provided for in Section
14-1-70
, when exercising their
judicial authority, shall uphold and adhere to the law as provided in the
United States Constitution, the United States Code, federal regulations, the
Constitution of South Carolina, the Code of Laws of South Carolina, state
regulations, case law and common law applicable to South Carolina, and if
necessary, the law of another state of the United States or of another
jurisdiction provided the law of the other state or jurisdiction does not include
Sharia law in making judicial decisions. Specifically, the courts shall not
consider Sharia law. The provisions of this section apply to all cases before
the respective courts including, but not limited to, cases of first impression.

S
ECTION 3.
S
ection
27-13-30
of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

S
ection
27-13-30
.
(
A) For the purposes of this section:

(
1) "Acquire" means buy, purchase, sell,
own, lease, hold, or exercise control over real property on, before, or after
the effective date of this section.

(
2) "Affiliated" means belongs to, is
connected with, is a member of, represents, or acts on behalf of a foreign
adversary, a foreign terrorist organization, or a transnational criminal
organization.

(
3) "Alien" means a person who is not a
citizen of or a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

(
4) "Foreign adversary" means any
foreign government or nongovernment person determined by the United States
Secretary of Commerce to have engaged in a long-term pattern or serious
instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the United
States or the security and safety of United States citizens.

(
5) "Foreign law" means any law, rule,
or legal code or system used or applied by another jurisdiction outside the
United States or its territories and includes, but is not limited to, Sharia
law.

(
6) "Foreign terrorist organization"
means an entity designated by the:

(
a) United States Secretary of State in
accordance with Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationalization Act, 8
United States Code § 1189, as amended, or

(
b) Governor of South Carolina as
provided in Section
1-1-2020
.

(
7) "Person" means an individual,
member, group, organization, corporation, and any other entity that has the
authority to acquire real property.

(
8) "Transnational criminal
organization" means a group that conducts illegal activities including, but not
limited to, drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, and
cybercrime across multiple countries.

(
B)
No
Subject to the provisions of subsections (C) through (F), no

alien
, person,
or corporation controlled by aliens,
either in his or its own right or as trustee, cestui que trust or agent, shall
own or control within the limits of this State more than five
hundred thousand
acres of land. Nothing in this section
shall apply to lands owned or controlled by any such person or corporation nor
to lands mortgaged to such a person or corporation on March 9, 1896, nor shall
this section apply to lands conveyed by an alien to a corporation controlled by
such alien.

(
C) An alien or a person affiliated
with a foreign adversary, a foreign terrorist organization, or a transnational
criminal organization:

(
1) may not acquire any interest in any
real property within the limits of this State on and after the effective date
of this section; and

(
2) must be divested of any real
property the alien or person has acquired.

(
D) On and after the effective date of
this section, any real property acquired by an alien or person affiliated with
a foreign adversary, a foreign terrorist organization, or a transnational
criminal organization is, without benefit of compensation or access to the
process of eminent domain, forfeited to the State or, in the case of a lease,
returned to the United States citizen owning the property.

(
E) The Attorney General's office, the
South Carolina Law Division (SLED), and state and local law enforcement are
empowered:

(
1) to locate and remove aliens and
persons prohibited from having real property interests as provided in this
section; and

(
2) to report and deliver those aliens
and persons to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or any other
appropriate law enforcement agency.

(
F)
(
1) A court, arbitrator, administrative
agency, or other adjudicative, mediative, or enforcement authority may not
enforce a foreign law that contravenes the provisions of this section.

(
2) If a contractual provision or
agreement providing for choice of foreign law contravenes the provisions of
this section, it must be modified or declared void to uphold and preserve the
prohibitions in this section.

S
ECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on March 26, 2026 at 12:26 PM