North Carolina SB 394: PEARL HARBOR SURVIVORS PLATES

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 5
SENATE BILL 394
Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee Substitute Adopted 4/8/25
Judiciary Committee Substitute Adopted 4/29/25
House Committee Substitute Favorable 5/12/26
House Committee Substitute #2 Favorable 6/9/26

Short Title: Prohibit Foreign Ownership of NC Land. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
March 25, 2025
*S394-v-5*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE ACQUISITION OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS OR LANDS 2
ADJACENT TO MILITARY INSTALLATIONS BY CERTAIN ADVERSARIAL 3
ENTITIES; TO PROVIDE FOR THE DIVESTMENT OF THOSE LANDS; AND TO 4
PROVIDE FOR DOCUMENTATION AND REGISTRATION OF LAND OWNERSHIP 5
BY CERTAIN ADVERSARIAL ENTITIES. 6
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
SECTION 1. Chapter 64 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 8
to read: 9
"Article 4. 10
"Prohibit Adversarial Foreign Party Acquisition of Certain Lands. 11
"§ 64-60. Title. 12
This act shall be known and be cited as the North Carolina Farmland and Military Protection 13
Act. 14
"§ 64-61. Purpose. 15
The General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest for the State to exercise its 16
governmental police power to guard its agricultural land and military installations from the 17
potential of adversarial foreign government control in order to ensure that the State's farmers are 18
able to produce a safe, abundant, and affordable supply of food and fiber and to protect our 19
national security for the benefit of the people of this State and the United States. 20
"§ 64-62. Definitions. 21
As used in this Article, the following definitions apply: 22
(1) Adversarial foreign government. – A state-controlled enterprise or the 23
government of a country or group listed in International Traffic in Arms 24
Regulations in 22 C.F.R. § 126.1(d). 25
(2) Agricultural land. – Any land situated in this State that is used for agricultural 26
production purposes as defined in G.S. 106-581.1(1) through (4). The term 27
does not include land situated in this State that is leased for agricultural 28
research and development purposes or other activities for the purpose of 29
producing inputs or products for farmers or other end-users, provided that the 30
acreage leased by the lessee does not exceed 250 acres in the aggregate. 31
(3) De minimis direct interest. – Any ownership of land resulting from: 32

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 394-Fifth Edition
a. Ownership of registered equities in a publicly traded company owning 1
the land and if the ownership interest in the company is either of the 2
following: 3
1. Less than ten percent (10%) of any class of registered equities. 4
Ownership of registered equities is determined by processes 5
established under federal law. 6
2. A noncontrolling interest in an entity controlled by a company 7
that is both registered with the United States Securities and 8
Exchange Commission as an investment adviser under the 9
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and is not a 10
foreign entity. 11
b. Any passive ownership interest of a prohibited foreign party in an 12
entity, provided that the prohibited foreign party does not possess, by 13
virtue of that ownership interest or otherwise, the power to direct or 14
cause the direction of the management or policies of the entity with 15
respect to the interest in real property. 16
(4) Foreign government. – Any government other than: (i) the federal 17
government, (ii) the government of a state, (iii) a political subdivision of a 18
state, or (iv) federally or state recognized tribal governments. 19
(5) Interest. – Any estate, remainder, or reversion, or any portion of the estate, 20
remainder, or reversion, or an option pursuant to which one party has a right 21
to cause the transfer of legal or equitable title to land described in 22
G.S. 64-63(a), including, without limitation, a lease of land described in 23
G.S. 64-63(a): (i) for a term of one year or longer or (ii) renewable by option 24
for terms which, if the options were all exercised, would total one year. 25
(6) Military installation. – Fort Bragg, Pope Army Airfield, Marine Corps Base 26
Camp Lejeune, New River Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point Marine 27
Corps Air Station, Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point, the United States 28
Coast Guard Air Station at Elizabeth City, Naval Support Activity Northwest, 29
Air Route Surveillance Radar (ARSR-4) at Fort Fisher, North Carolina 30
National Guard facilities, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, in its own 31
right and as the responsible entity for the Dare County Bombing Range, and 32
any military training facility located within the State that is subject to the 33
installations' oversight and control. Military installation does not include 34
churches, schools, offices, or residential facilities outside the defined 35
boundaries of the above named facilities, and does not include temporary 36
military operations areas. The