House File 542 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 542 BY THOMSON and ANDREWS A BILL FOR An Act prohibiting the government of, and persons and entities 1 from, the Peoples Republic of China, and companies or 2 persons under control of the communist party of China, from 3 acquiring or owning real property located in the state. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 2469YH (4) 90 ko/ns
H.F. 542 Section 1. Section 9I.1, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 1 following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. Ultimate beneficial owner shall mean 3 the natural person who ultimately controls or owns specific 4 real property, or on whose behalf a real property transaction 5 is conducted. 6 Sec. 2. Section 9I.2, Code 2023, is amended to read as 7 follows: 8 9I.2 Alien rights Real property nonresident aliens and 9 foreign governments . 10 1. A nonresident alien, foreign business or foreign 11 government may acquire , by grant, purchase, devise , or descent , 12 real property, except agricultural land or any interest in 13 agricultural land in this state, and may own, hold, devise , or 14 alienate the real property, and shall incur the same duties and 15 liabilities in relation thereto as a citizen and resident of 16 the United States. 17 2. Notwithstanding subsection 1, effective July 1, 2023, 18 the government of the Peoples Republic of China shall not 19 acquire by grant, purchase, devise, or descent any real 20 property located in this state. 21 3. Notwithstanding subsection 1, effective July 1, 2023, 22 a corporation incorporated under the laws of the government 23 of the Peoples Republic of China, or a business entity 24 whether or not incorporated, in which a majority interest 25 is owned directly or indirectly by nonresident aliens from 26 the Peoples Republic of China shall not acquire by grant, 27 purchase, devise, or descent any real property located in 28 this state. Legal entities, including but not limited to 29 trusts, holding companies, multiple corporations, and other 30 business arrangements, shall not affect the determination of 31 ownership or control of the foreign business. If a corporation 32 incorporated under the laws of the government of the Peoples 33 Republic of China, or a business entity whether or not 34 incorporated, in which a majority interest is owned directly 35 -1- LSB 2469YH (4) 90 ko/ns 1/ 9
H.F. 542 or indirectly by nonresident aliens from the Peoples Republic 1 of China owns or holds real property in this state on July 1, 2 2023, the corporation or business entity shall divest itself 3 of all right, title, and interest in the real property before 4 December 31, 2023. 5 4. Notwithstanding subsection 1, effective July 1, 2023, a 6 company or a person under the control of the communist party 7 of China shall not acquire by grant, purchase, devise, or 8 descent any real property located in this state. If a company 9 or a person under the control of the communist party of China 10 owns or holds real property in this state on July 1, 2023, the 11 company or person shall divest itself of all right, title, and 12 interest in the real property before December 31, 2023. 13 Sec. 3. Section 9I.3, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 14 following new subsection: 15 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. a. Notwithstanding subsections 1, 2, 3, 16 and 4, the government of the Peoples Republic of China shall 17 not purchase or otherwise acquire agricultural land in this 18 state. If the government of the Peoples Republic of China 19 owns or holds agricultural land in this state on July 1, 2023, 20 the government of the Peoples Republic of China shall divest 21 itself of all right, title, and interest in the agricultural 22 land before December 31, 2023. 23 b. Notwithstanding subsections 1, 2, 3, and 4, a corporation 24 incorporated under the laws of the government of the Peoples 25 Republic of China, or a business entity whether or not 26 incorporated, in which a majority interest is owned directly or 27 indirectly by nonresident aliens from the Peoples Republic of 28 China shall not purchase or otherwise acquire agricultural land 29 in this state. If a corporation incorporated under the laws of 30 the government of the Peoples Republic of China, or a business 31 entity whether or not incorporated, in which a majority 32 interest is owned directly or indirectly by nonresident aliens 33 from the Peoples Republic of China owns or holds agricultural 34 land in this state on July 1, 2023, the corporation or business 35 -2- LSB 2469YH (4) 90 ko/ns 2/ 9
H.F. 542 entity shall divest itself of all right, title, and interest in 1 the agricultural land before December 31, 2023. 2 c. Notwithstanding subsections 1, 2, 3, and 4, a company 3 or a person under the control of the communist party of China 4 shall not purchase or otherwise acquire agricultural land in 5 this state. If a company or a person under the control of the 6 communist party of China owns or holds agricultural land in 7 this state on July 1, 2023, the company or person shall divest 8 itself of all right, title, and interest in the agricultural 9 land before December 31, 2023. 10 Sec. 4. Section 9I.5, Code 2023, is amended to read as 11 follows: 12 9I.5 Land acquired by devise or descent. 13 1. A nonresident alien, foreign business or foreign 14 government, or an agent, trustee or fiduciary thereof, which 15 acquires agricultural land or an interest in agricultural 16 land, by devise or descent after January 1, 1980, shall divest 17 itself of all right, title and interest in the land within two 18 years from the date of acquiring the land or interest. This 19 section shall not require divestment of agricultural land or an 20 interest in agricultural land, acquired by devise or descent 21 from a nonresident alien, if such land or an interest in such 22 land was acquired by any nonresident alien prior to July 1, 23 1979. 24 2. If the government of the Peoples Republic of China, 25 acquired real property or an interest in real property by 26 devise or descent on or before July 1, 2023, the government 27 of the Peoples Republic of China shall divest itself of all 28 right, title, and interest in the land before December 31, 29 2023. 30 3. If a corporation incorporated under the laws of the 31 government of the Peoples Republic of China, or a business 32 entity whether or not incorporated, in which a majority 33 interest is owned directly or indirectly by nonresident aliens 34 from the Peoples Republic of China, acquired real property or 35 -3- LSB 2469YH (4) 90 ko/ns 3/ 9
H.F. 542 an interest in real property by devise or descent on or before 1 July 1, 2023, the corporation or business entity shall divest 2 itself of all right, title, and interest in the land before 3 December 31, 2023. 4 4. If a company or a person under the control of the 5 communist party of China acquired real property or an interest 6 in real property by devise or descent on or before July 1, 7 2023, the company or person shall divest itself of all right, 8 title, and interest in the agricultural land before December 9 31, 2023. 10 Sec. 5. Section 9I.6, Code 2023, is amended to read as 11 follows: 12 9I.6 Change of status divestment. 13 1. A person or business which purchases or otherwise 14 acquires agricultural land in this state except by devise or 15 descent, after January 1, 1980, and whose status changes so 16 that it becomes a foreign business or nonresident alien subject 17 to this chapter , shall divest itself of all right, title and 18 interest in the land within two years from the date that its 19 status changed. 20 2. A person or business which purchased or otherwise 21 acquired real property in this state except by devise or 22 descent, and whose status changed so that the person or 23 business is affiliated in any way with the government of the 24 Peoples Republic of China or the communist party of China, 25 shall divest itself of all right, title, and interest in the 26 land before December 31, 2023. 27 3. A person or business which purchased or otherwise 28 acquired real property in this state except by devise 29 or descent, and whose status changed so that the person 30 or business is affiliated in any way with a corporation 31 incorporated under the laws of the government of the Peoples 32 Republic of China or the communist party of China, shall divest 33 itself of all right, title, and interest in the land before 34 December 31, 2023. 35 -4- LSB 2469YH (4) 90 ko/ns 4/ 9
H.F. 542 Sec. 6. Section 9I.10, Code 2023, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 9I.10 Enforcement. 3 1. a. If the secretary of state finds that a nonresident 4 alien, foreign business, foreign government, or an agent, 5 trustee, or other fiduciary thereof, has acquired or holds 6 title to or interest in agricultural land in this state in 7 violation of this chapter or has failed to timely register as 8 required under section 9I.7 or has failed to timely report as 9 required under section 9I.8 , the secretary shall report the 10 violation to the attorney general. 11 b. If a county recorder finds that the government of the 12 Peoples Republic of China has acquired or holds title to or 13 interest in real property located in this state in violation of 14 this chapter, the county recorder shall report the violation 15 to the attorney general. 16 c. If a county recorder finds that a corporation 17 incorporated under the laws of the government of the Peoples 18 Republic of China, or a business entity whether or not 19 incorporated, in which a majority interest is owned directly 20 or indirectly by nonresident aliens from the Peoples Republic 21 of China has acquired or holds title to or interest in real 22 property in this state in violation of this chapter, the county 23 recorder shall report the violation to the attorney general. 24 d. If a county recorder finds that a company or person under 25 the control of the communist party of China has acquired or 26 holds title to or interest in real property in this state in 27 violation of this chapter, the county recorder shall report the 28 violation to the attorney general. 29 2. a. Upon receipt of the a report from the secretary of 30 state or a county recorder under subsection 1 , the attorney 31 general shall initiate an action in the district court of any 32 county in which the land is located. 33 3. b. The attorney general shall file a notice of the 34 pendency of the action with the recorder of deeds of each 35 -5- LSB 2469YH (4) 90 ko/ns 5/ 9
H.F. 542 county in which any of the land is located. If the court 1 finds that the land in question has been acquired or held in 2 violation of this chapter or the required registration has not 3 been timely filed, it shall enter an order so declaring and 4 shall file a copy of the order with the recorder of deeds of 5 each county in which any portion of the land is located. 6 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 9I.13 Ultimate beneficial owner 7 presumption. 8 If the ultimate beneficial owner of any real property 9 located in this state cannot be one hundred percent determined, 10 the presumption shall be that the real property is owned by a 11 resident of the Peoples Republic of China. 12 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 9I.14 Foreign lands administration 13 tax. 14 Effective January 1, 2024, a monthly foreign lands 15 administrative tax of ten percent of the fair market value of 16 any real property in this state that is owned by a company or a 17 person under the control of the communist party of China, the 18 government of the Peoples Republic of China, a corporation 19 incorporated under the laws of the government of the Peoples 20 Republic of China, or a business entity whether or not 21 incorporated, in which a majority interest is owned directly 22 or indirectly by nonresident aliens from the Peoples Republic 23 of China, or an ultimate beneficial owner under section 9I.13 24 shall be charged to the owner and shall be a lien on the real 25 property. 26 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 9I.15 Tax sale. 27 Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, on December 28 1, 2024, the county treasurer of each county in which real 29 property is located on which the foreign lands administrative 30 tax under section 9I.14 is delinquent, shall offer such real 31 property at public sale pursuant to chapter 446. 32 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 9I.16 Treasurer of state 33 administrator of trust. 34 Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, on January 1, 2025, 35 -6- LSB 2469YH (4) 90 ko/ns 6/ 9
H.F. 542 any real property located in this state that is owned by a 1 company or a person under the control of the communist party 2 of China, the government of the Peoples Republic of China, a 3 corporation incorporated under the laws of the government of 4 the Peoples Republic of China, or a business entity whether 5 or not incorporated, in which a majority interest is owned 6 directly or indirectly by nonresident aliens from the Peoples 7 Republic of China, or an ultimate beneficial owner under 8 section 9I.13, shall be placed in a trust administered by the 9 treasurer of state. The Iowa public employees retirement 10 system shall be the beneficiary of the trust. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill prohibits the government of, and persons and 15 entities from, the Peoples Republic of China, and companies or 16 persons under the control of the communist party of China, from 17 acquiring or owning real property located in the state. 18 The bill provides that effective July 1, 2023, the 19 government of the Peoples Republic of China (government), a 20 corporation incorporated under the laws of the government of 21 the Peoples Republic of China (corporation) or a business 22 entity whether or not incorporated in which a majority interest 23 is owned directly or indirectly by nonresident aliens from the 24 Peoples Republic of China (entity), and a company or a person 25 under the control of the communist party (company or person) of 26 China shall not acquire by grant, purchase, devise, or descent 27 any real property, including agricultural land, located in this 28 state. If the government, corporation, entity, company, or 29 person owns or holds real property in this state on July 1, 30 2023, the government, corporation, entity, company, or person 31 shall divest itself of all right, title, and interest in the 32 real property before December 31, 2023. 33 If real property, including agricultural land, was acquired 34 by the government, corporation, entity, company, or person by 35 -7- LSB 2469YH (4) 90 ko/ns 7/ 9
H.F. 542 devise or descent on or before July 1, 2023, the government, 1 corporation, entity, company, or person shall divest itself 2 of all right, title, and interest in the real property before 3 December 31, 2023. 4 A person or business which purchased or otherwise acquired 5 real property in this state except by devise or descent, 6 and whose status changed so that the person or business is 7 affiliated in any way with the government, corporation, entity, 8 or a company or person shall divest itself of all right, title, 9 and interest in the land before December 31, 2023. 10 The bill provides that if a county recorder finds that 11 a government, corporation, entity, company, or person has 12 violated a requirement of the bill, the county recorder shall 13 report the violation to the attorney general. Upon receipt of 14 a report of a violation, the attorney general shall initiate 15 an action in the district court of any county in which the land 16 is located. 17 Under the bill, if the ultimate beneficial owner of any 18 real property located in this state cannot be 100 percent 19 determined, the presumption shall be that the real property is 20 owned by a resident of the government. Ultimate beneficial 21 owner is defined in the bill. 22 Effective January 1, 2024, the bill imposes a monthly 23 foreign lands administrative tax of 10 percent of the fair 24 market value of any real property in this state that is owned 25 by the government, corporation, entity, company, person, or 26 an ultimate beneficial owner, and the tax shall be a lien on 27 the real property. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, 28 on December 1, 2024, the county treasurer of each county in 29 which real property is located on which the foreign lands 30 administrative tax is delinquent shall offer such real estate 31 at public sale pursuant to Code chapter 446. 32 Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, on January 1, 2025, 33 the bill provides that any real property located in this state 34 that is owned by the government, corporation, entity, company, 35 -8- LSB 2469YH (4) 90 ko/ns 8/ 9
H.F. 542 person, or an ultimate beneficial owner, shall be placed in a 1 trust administered by the treasurer of state. The Iowa public 2 employees retirement system shall be the beneficiary of the 3 trust. 4 -9- LSB 2469YH (4) 90 ko/ns 9/ 9