Hunter
04/10/24
Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill Tuesday that tightens registration and ownership rules on Iowa farmland owned by non-US citizens, foreign governments and foreign companies.
The Daily Iowan reports the law states that those who own an interest in agricultural land in Iowa within or after Jan. 1, 1980, and are not United States citizens, must register the land with the secretary of state.
The bill allows the secretary of state to report violations to the attorney general if a foreign business, government, or nonresident ‘alien’ acquires or holds a title or interest in agricultural land in violation of the legislation or has failed to timely register or report. It also allows the attorney general to investigate if they believe an entity has broken the law.
In a statement, Reynolds said that Iowa already had some of the toughest foreign ownership statutes in the country, but with adversaries like China growing more aggressive in their desire to assert themselves on the world stage, She added that the bill will help stave off the threat to American agriculture.