North Carolina SB 504: NC Farmland and Military Protection Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 504

Short Title: NC Farmland and Military Protection Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Moffitt, Hanig, and McInnis (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 26, 2025
*S504-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE ACQUISITION OF AGRICULTURAL AND OTHER LANDS 2
CRITICAL TO THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE STATE BY CERTAIN 3
FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS DESIGNATED AS ADVERSARIAL BY THE UNITED 4
STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
SECTION 1. Chapter 64 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 7
to read: 8
"Article 4. 9
"Prohibit Adversarial Foreign Government Acquisition of Certain Lands. 10
"§ 64-60. Title. 11
This act shall be known and be cited as the North Carolina Farmland and Military Protection 12
Act. 13
"§ 64-61. Purpose. 14
The General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest for the State to guard its 15
agricultural land from the potential of adversarial foreign government control in order to ensure 16
that the State's farmers are able to produce a safe, abundant, and affordable supply of food and 17
fiber for the benefit of the people of this State and the United States and to protect our vital 18
resources. 19
"§ 64-62. Definitions. 20
As used in this Article, the following definitions apply: 21
(1) Adversarial foreign government. – A state-controlled enterprise or the 22
government of a country or group subject to International Traffic in Arms 23
Regulations in 22 C.F.R. § 126. 24
(2) Agricultural land. – Any land situated in this State that is used for agricultural 25
production purposes as defined in G.S. 106-581.1(1) through (4). The term 26
does not include land situated in this State that is leased for agricultural 27
research and development purposes or other activities for the purpose of 28
producing inputs and/or products for farmers or other end-users, provided that 29
the acreage leased by the lessee does not exceed 250 acres in the aggregate. 30
(3) Controlling interest. – Possession of more than fifty percent (50%) of the 31
ownership interest in an entity. The term also includes possession of fifty 32
percent (50%) or less of the ownership interest in an entity if an owner directs 33
the business and affairs of the entity without the requirement or consent of any 34
other party. 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 504-First Edition
(4) Interest. – Any estate, remainder, or reversion, or any portion of the estate, 1
remainder, or reversion, or an option pursuant to which one party has a right 2
to cause the transfer of legal or equitable title to agricultural land. 3
(5) Military installation. – Fort Bragg, Pope Army Airfield, Marine Corps Base 4
Camp Lejeune, New River Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point Marine 5
Corps Air Station, Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point, the United States 6
Coast Guard Air Station at Elizabeth City, Naval Support Activity Northwest, 7
Blakeslee Air Force Recreation Area, Air Route Surveillance Radar 8
(ARSR-4) at Fort Fisher, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, in its own 9
right and as the responsible entity for the Dare County Bombing Range, North 10
Carolina National Guard facilities, and any facility located within the State 11
that is subject to the installations' oversight and control. 12
(6) State-controlled enterprise. – A business enterprise, however denominated, in 13
which a foreign government has a controlling interest. 14
"§ 64-63. Adversarial foreign government acquisition of agricultural land prohibited. 15
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no adversarial foreign 16
government shall purchase, acquire, lease, or hold any interest in the following: 17
(1) Agricultural land. 18
(2) Land situated within a 75-mile radius of a military installation. 19
(b) Any transfer of an interest in land in violation of this section shall be void. 20
(c) The responsibility for determining whether an individual or other entity is subject to 21
this Article rests solely with the adversarial foreign government and the State of North Carolina 22
and no other individual or entity. An individual or other entity who is not an adversarial foreign 23
government shall bear no civil or criminal liability for failing to determine or make inquiry of 24
whether an individual or other entity is an adversarial foreign government." 25
SECTION 2. If any section or provision of this act is declared unconstitutional or 26
invalid by the courts, it does not affect the validity of this act as a whole or any part other than 27
the part so declared to be unconstitutional or invalid. 28
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective December 1, 2025. 29