GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 338
Short Title: NC Farmland and Military Protection Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Everitt, Applewhite, and Smith (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 20, 2025
*S338 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE ACQUISITION OF AGRICULTURAL AND OTHER LANDS 2
CRITICAL TO THE SAFE TY AND SECURITY OF T HE STATE BY CERTAIN 3
FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS DESIGNATED AS ADVERS ARIAL BY THE UNITED 4
STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE. 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 foreign nation that has received a designation under 15 C.F.R. 23
§ 7.4, as was in effect as of July 17, 2024, from a determination by the United 24
States Secretary of Commerce that the entity has engaged in a long-term 25
pattern or serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national 26
security of the United States or security and safety of United States persons. 27
(2) Agricultural land. – Any land situated in this State that is used for agricultural 28
production purposes as defined in G.S. 106-581.1(1) through (4). The term 29
does not include land situated in this State that is leased for agricultural 30
research and development purposes or other activities for the purpose of 31
producing inputs and/or products for farmers or other end-users, provided that 32
the acreage leased by the lessee does not exceed 250 acres in the aggregate. 33
(3) Controlling interest. – Possession of more than fifty percent (50%) of the 34
ownership interest in an entity. The term also includes possession of fifty 35
percent (50%) or less of the ownership interest in an entity if an owner directs 36 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 338-First Edition
the business and affairs of the entity without the requirement or consent of any 1
other party. 2
(4) Interest. – Any estate, remainder, or reversion, or any portion of the estate, 3
remainder, or reversion, or an option pursuant to which one party has a right 4
to cause the transfer of legal or equitable title to agricultural land. 5
(5) Military installation. – Fort Bragg, Pope Army Airfield, Marine Corps Base 6
Camp Lejeune, New River Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point Marine 7
Corps Air Station, Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point, the United States 8
Coast Guard Air Station at Elizabeth City, Naval Support Activity Northwest, 9
Air Route Surveillance Radar (ARSR-4) at Fort Fisher, and Seymour Johnson 10
Air Force Base, in its own right and as the responsible entity for the Dare 11
County Bombing Range, and any facility located within the State that is 12
subject to the installations' oversight and control. 13
(6) State-controlled enterprise. – A business enterprise, however denominated, in 14
which a foreign government has a controlling interest. 15
"§ 64-63. Adversarial foreign government acquisition of agricultural land prohibited. 16
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no adversarial foreign 17
government shall purchase, acquire, lease, or hold any interest in the following: 18
(1) Agricultural land. 19
(2) Land situated within a 25-mile radius of a military installation. 20
(b) Any transfer of an interest in land in violation of this section shall be void. 21
(c) The responsibility for determining whether an individual or other entity is subject to 22
this Article rests solely with the adversarial foreign government and the State of North Carolina 23
and no other individual or entity. An individual or other entity who is not an adversarial foreign 24
government shall bear no civil or criminal liability for failing to determine or make inquiry of 25
whether an individual or other entity is an adversarial foreign government." 26
SECTION 2. If any section or provision of this act is declared unconstitutional or 27
invalid by the courts, it does not affect the validity of this act as a whole or any part other than 28
the part so declared to be unconstitutional or invalid. 29
SECTION 3. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 30
Agriculture and Consumer Services the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) in nonrecurring 31
funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to be allocated to the North Carolina Agricultural 32
Development and Farmland Preservation Trust for the inventory of farmland in this State. 33
SECTION 4. Section 1 of this act becomes effective on January 1, 2026, and applies 34
only to interests in land acquired on and after that date. Section 3 of this act becomes effective 35
July 1, 2025. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law. 36