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SF0124 • 2023

Foreign ownership of agricultural land.

AN ACT relating to property; restricting foreign ownership of agricultural land; specifying exceptions; providing definitions; requiring registration; authorizing enforcement of ownership restrictions; providing a civil penalty; requiring the inclusion of notices of the foreign ownership prohibition in assessment schedules and tax notices; specifying applicability; requiring rulemaking; and providing for an effective date.

Agriculture Taxes
Inactive

Wyoming marks this bill as inactive, which usually means it is no longer moving in the current session.

Sponsor
Senator Salazar
Last action
2023-02-07
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2023

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on penalties for failing to convert land within two years or how conversion should occur.

Foreign Ownership Ban on Agricultural Land

This bill restricts foreign ownership of agricultural land in Wyoming, requires registration for existing foreign owners, and imposes penalties for violations.

What This Bill Does

  • Bans foreign governments or businesses from buying new agricultural land in Wyoming after July 1, 2023.
  • Allows current foreign owners to keep their land but not buy more unless they convert the land to a non-agricultural use within two years.
  • Requires existing and future foreign owners of agricultural land to register with the Secretary of State by August 1, 2023, and annually thereafter.
  • Imposes penalties up to $5,000 per day for failing to comply with registration or conversion requirements.
  • Adds notices about foreign ownership restrictions in property tax assessment schedules and tax bills.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Foreign governments and businesses interested in purchasing agricultural land in Wyoming.
  • Current owners of agricultural land who are foreign entities.
  • County treasurers, assessors, and clerks responsible for reporting violations to the Secretary of State.

Terms To Know

Agricultural Land
Land used for farming or other agricultural activities as defined by Wyoming law.
Foreign Business
Any corporation or business entity wholly owned directly or indirectly by a foreign government, regardless of its structure.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how existing agricultural land will be converted to non-agricultural use.
  • It is unclear what happens if a foreign owner fails to convert their land within two years as required.
  • This bill was marked inactive by Wyoming, meaning it did not move forward in the current session.

Bill History

  1. 2023-02-07 Senate

    S:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to SR 5-4

  2. 2023-02-06 Senate

    S No report prior to CoW Cutoff

  3. 2023-01-17 Senate

    S Introduced and Referred to S05 - Agriculture

  4. 2023-01-17 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  5. 2023-01-16 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
23LSO-0310
2023
STATE OF WYOMING
23LSO-0310
Numbered
2.0

SENATE FILE NO. SF0124

Foreign ownership of agricultural land.

Sponsored by: Senator(s) Salazar, Biteman, Boner, French, Ide, Kolb and Steinmetz and Representative(s) Banks, Bear, Jennings, Knapp, Olsen, Ottman, Pendergraft and Winter

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to property; restricting foreign ownership of agricultural land; specifying exceptions; providing definitions; requiring registration; authorizing enforcement of ownership restrictions; providing a civil penalty; requiring the inclusion of notices of the foreign ownership prohibition in assessment schedules and tax notices; specifying applicability; requiring rulemaking; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.

W.S. 34
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104 is created to read:

34
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15
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104.

Restriction on foreign ownership of agricultural land; registration; penalty; enforcement.

(a)

As used in this section:

(i)

"Agricultural land" means land used for agricultural purposes and otherwise qualifying as agricultural land for purposes of W.S. 39
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103(b)(x);

(ii)

"Agricultural purpose" means as defined in W.S. 39
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101(a)(viii);

(iii)

"Foreign business" means any corporation or other business entity, whether or not incorporated, which is wholly owned directly or indirectly by a foreign government. Using entities or business arrangements such as trusts, holding companies or multiple corporations shall not preclude a determination of foreign ownership of a business;

(iv)

"Foreign government" means a government other than the government of the United States or its states, territories or possessions and the government of any federally or state recognized Indian tribe or band.

(b)

No foreign government or foreign business, nor any agent, trustee or fiduciary thereof, on behalf of or for a foreign government or foreign business, shall purchase or otherwise acquire title to agricultural land in Wyoming. A foreign government or foreign business, or any agent, trustee or fiduciary thereof, that owns or holds title to agricultural land in Wyoming on July 1, 2023 may continue to own or hold title to the land but shall not purchase or otherwise acquire additional agricultural land in Wyoming.

(c)

A business or other entity that purchases or otherwise acquires title to agricultural land in Wyoming after July 1, 2023 and whose status changes so that the business or other entity becomes a foreign business shall convert the land to a purpose other than an agricultural purpose or shall sell or otherwise dispose of the agricultural land not later than two (2) years from the date that the business or other entity becomes a foreign business.

(d)

Pending the conversion to a purpose other than an agricultural purpose, sale or other disposal of land under subsection (c) of this section, land shall not be used for agricultural purposes except under lease to a person or other entity that is not subject to the restriction on agricultural land holdings under subsection (b) of this section.

(e)

No person, business entity or governmental entity shall transfer title to or an interest in agricultural land in Wyoming to a foreign business or foreign government or to any agent, trustee or fiduciary thereof for a foreign government, foreign business or foreign person.

(f)

A foreign government or foreign business or any agent, trustee or fiduciary thereof, on behalf of or for a foreign government or foreign business, that purchases or otherwise acquires title to agricultural land in violation of this section or that fails to convert the land to a purpose other than an agricultural purpose within two (2) years of purchasing or acquiring the agricultural land, as provided for in subsection (c) of this section, shall be in violation of this chapter for as long as the foreign government or foreign business or any agent, trustee or fiduciary thereof, on behalf of or for a foreign government or foreign business owns or holds title to the land.

(g)

A foreign business or foreign government, or any agent, trustee or fiduciary thereof for a foreign government or foreign business, that owns an interest in agricultural land in Wyoming on or after July 1, 2023 shall register the ownership of the land with the secretary of state. The registration shall be in a form and manner prescribed by the secretary of state and shall contain the name of the owner, the location of the land, the legal description of the land including the number of acres of the land by county and, if the owner is an agent, trustee or fiduciary of a foreign business or foreign government, the name of any principal for whom that land is held, was purchased or otherwise acquired. The registration shall be made not later than sixty (60) days after July 1, 2023 and shall be updated annually not later than March 31 of each year.

(h)

A foreign business or foreign government, or any agent, trustee or fiduciary for a foreign business or foreign government, that fails to register or fails to timely register as required by subsection (g) of this section or that fails to convert or sell as required by subsection (c) of this section shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) per day. The attorney general may take any action necessary to enforce this section, including initiating an action in the district court of any county in which the agricultural land is located.

(j)

Each county treasurer shall report to the secretary of state if a foreign business or foreign government purchases or otherwise acquires title to agricultural land in the county where the treasurer serves or if the treasurer suspects that agricultural land was purchased or otherwise acquired in the county by a foreign business or foreign government. Any county clerk, county assessor or other county officer who learns of a foreign business or foreign government purchase or other acquisition of title to agricultural land in the county shall notify the county treasurer. The secretary of state shall report any violation of this section to the attorney general if the secretary of state finds that a foreign business or foreign government, or any agent, trustee or fiduciary thereof, has purchased or otherwise acquired or holds title to or an interest in agricultural land in Wyoming in violation of this section or has failed to register as required by this section.

Section 2.

W.S. 39
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103(b)(viii) and 39
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107(b)(i)(C) are amended to read:

39
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103.

Imposition.

(b)

Basis of tax.

The following shall apply:

(viii)

Every assessment schedule sent to a taxpayer shall contain the property's estimated fair market value for the current and previous year, or, productive value in the case of agricultural property. The schedule shall also contain the assessment ratio as provided by paragraph (b)(iii) of this section for the taxable property, the amount of taxes assessed on the taxable property from the previous year, and an estimate of the taxes which will be due and payable for the current year based on the previous year's mill levies.
The schedule shall also contain information stating that foreign ownership of agricultural property in Wyoming is prohibited and describing the requirement to register foreign ownership of agricultural property with the secretary of state as provided by W.S. 34
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104.

The schedule shall contain a statement of the process to contest assessments as prescribed by W.S. 39
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109(b)(i);

39
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107.

Compliance; collection procedures.

(b)

The following provisions shall apply to the payment of taxes, distraint of property and deferral:

(i)

The following shall apply to the payment of taxes due:

(C)

Annually, on or before October 10 the county treasurer shall send a written statement to each taxpayer by mail at his last known address or, if offered by the county and upon request of the taxpayer, by electronic transmission of the total tax due, itemized as to property description, assessed value and mill levies. The notice shall contain information, including contact information, of any property tax relief program authorized by state law.
The notice shall contain information stating that foreign ownership of agricultural property in Wyoming is prohibited and describing the requirement to register foreign agricultural property with the secretary of state as provided by W.S. 34
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104.
Failure to send notice, or to demand payment of taxes, does not invalidate any taxes due;

Section 3
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Except as provided in W.S. 34
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104(c), as created by section 1 of this act, nothing in this act shall be construed to divest, extinguish or sever any interest in or claim to real property, real estate and surface and mineral interests in Wyoming.

Section 4.

The secretary of state shall promulgate rules and forms necessary to implement this act.

Section 5.

This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

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SF0124