2025
STATE OF WYOMING
25LSO-02891HB0224
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0224
Prohibiting foreign adversary property ownership.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Banks, Allemand, Andrew,
Angelos, Hoeft, Neiman, Riggins, Singh,
Strock, Styvar, Tarver, Webber and Winter
and Senator(s) Boner, Brennan, French,
Hutchings, Laursen, D, McKeown, Pearson and
Steinmetz
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to property; restricting foreign adversary
2 ownership of land and other interests in Wyoming as
3 specified; providing definitions; authorizing enforcement
4 of ownership restrictions as specified; providing a civil
5 penalty; requiring the inclusion of notices of foreign
6 ownership in assessment schedules and tax statements;
7 specifying applicability; requiring rulemaking; and
8 providing for an effective date.
9
10
11
12. W.S. 34-15-104 is created to read:
13 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-02892HB02241
2
3
4 (a) As used in this section:
5
6 (i) "Land" means any interest in real property
7 or real estate and any surface, subsurface, airspace or
8 mineral interest in Wyoming;
9
10 (ii) "Foreign adversary" means:
11
12 (A) A business entity, whether or not
13 incorporated, in which a majority interest is owned, held
14 or controlled directly or indirectly by foreign persons or
15 by a foreign government;
16
17 (B) A foreign government of:
18
19 (I) Russia;
20
21 (II) China;
22 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-02893HB02241 (III) Any country that has been
2 designated as a state sponsor of terrorism under federal
3 law;
4
5 (IV) Any country subject to
6 international traffic in arms regulations that is
7 identified or named in 22 C.F.R. § 126.1(d); or
8
9 (V) Any county that has been
10 designated as a foreign adversary under 15 C.F.R. § 791.4.
11
12 (C) A foreign person, including a person
13 who is a nonresident alien, and who is a citizen of:
14
15 (I) Russia;
16
17 (II) China;
18
19 (III) A country that has been
20 designated as a state sponsor of terrorism under federal
21 law;
22 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-02894HB02241 (IV) A country subject to
2 international traffic in arms regulations that is
3 identified or named in 22 C.F.R. § 126.1(d); or
4
5 (V) A county that has been designated
6 as a foreign adversary under 15 C.F.R. § 791.4.
7
8 (b) No foreign adversary, or any agent, trustee or
9 fiduciary thereof, shall purchase or otherwise acquire any
10 interest in land in Wyoming except for a personal residence
11 for personal use that is located on not more than one (1)
12 acre of land.
13
14 (c) A foreign adversary, or any agent, trustee or
15 fiduciary thereof, that acquires any interest in land in
16 Wyoming on or after July 1, 2025 pursuant to subsection (b)
17 of this section, shall register the ownership with the
18 office of homeland security in accordance with the
19 following:
20
21 (i) The registration shall be in a form and
22 manner prescribed by the office of homeland security;
23 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-02895HB02241 (ii) The registration shall contain the name of
2 the owner, the location of the land, the number of acres of
3 the land or the nature of the interest in the land and, if
4 the owner is an agent, trustee or fiduciary of a foreign
5 adversary, the name of any principal;
6
7 (iii) The initial registration shall be made not
8 later than sixty (60) days after July 1, 2025 or within
9 sixty (60) days of acquisition of the interest in land,
10 whichever is later;
11
12 (iv) The registration shall be updated annually
13 on or before March 31 of each year.
14
15 (d) A foreign adversary, or any agent, trustee or
16 fiduciary thereof, who fails to register, timely register
17 or update registration annually as required by subsection
18 (c) of this section shall be liable for a civil penalty of
19 five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) for each day that the
20 prohibited person, or any agent, trustee or fiduciary
21 thereof, is not in compliance with subsection (c) of this
22 section.
23 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-02896HB02241 (e) Each county clerk shall report to the office of
2 homeland security if a foreign adversary, or any agent,
3 trustee or fiduciary thereof, purchases or acquires any
4 interest in land in the county in violation of this
5 section.
6
7 (f) The office of homeland security shall report any
8 violation of this section to the attorney general if the
9 office of homeland security finds that a foreign adversary,
10 or any agent, trustee or fiduciary thereof, has acquired or
11 holds title to or any interest in land in violation of this
12 section or has failed to register or update registration as
13 required by subsection (c) of this section.
14
15 (g) The attorney general may take any action
16 necessary to enforce the provisions of this section,
17 including initiating an action in the district court of any
18 county in which the interest in land is located for a court
19 order for a civil judgment against the foreign adversary in
20 the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) for each
21 day that the foreign adversary, or any agent, trustee or
22 fiduciary thereof, is not in compliance with subsection (c) 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-02897HB0224
1 of this section. Any civil penalty collected shall be
2 credited to the general fund.
3
4W.S. 39-13-103(b)(viii) and
5 39-13-107(b)(i)(C) are amended to read:
6
7
8
9 (b) Basis of tax. The following shall apply:
10
11 (viii) Every assessment schedule sent to a
12 taxpayer shall contain the property's estimated fair market
13 value for the current and previous year, or, productive
14 value in the case of agricultural property. The schedule
15 shall also contain the assessment ratio as provided by
16 paragraph (b)(iii) of this section for the taxable
17 property, the amount of taxes assessed on the taxable
18 property from the previous year, an estimate of the taxes
19 which will be due and payable for the current year based on
20 the previous year's mill levies and, if the property is a
21 single family residential structure, an estimate of the
22 taxes that will be avoided if the property is eligible for
23 the exemptions under W.S. 39-11-105(a)(xliii) and (xliv). 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-02898HB0224
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 The schedule shall contain a statement of the
9 process to contest assessments as prescribed by W.S.
10 39-13-109(b)(i);
11
12
13
14 (b) The following provisions shall apply to the
15 payment of taxes, distraint of property and deferral:
16
17 (i) The following shall apply to the payment of
18 taxes due:
19
20 (C) Annually, on or before October 10 the
21 county treasurer shall send a written statement to each
22 taxpayer by mail at his last known address or, if offered
23 by the county and upon request of the taxpayer, by 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-02899HB0224
1 electronic transmission of the total tax due, itemized as
2 to property description, assessed value and mill levies.
3 The notice shall contain information, including contact
4 information, of any property tax relief program authorized
5 by state law and, if the property is a single family
6 residential structure, the taxes that will be avoided
7 pursuant to the exemptions under W.S. 39-11-105(a)(xliii)
8 and (xliv).
9
10
11
12
13
14
15 Failure to send notice, or to demand payment of
16 taxes, does not invalidate any taxes due;
17
18Except as provided in W.S. 34-15-104(b)
19 and (g), as created by section 1 of this act, nothing in
20 this act shall be construed to divest, extinguish or sever
21 any interest in or claim to real property or real estate,
22 surface, subsurface, airspace or mineral interests in 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-028910HB0224
1 Wyoming. This act shall apply to land purchases made on or
2 after the effective date of this act.
3
4The office of homeland security shall
5 promulgate all rules necessary to implement the provisions
6 of this act.
7
8This act is effective immediately upon
9 completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law
10 as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming
11 Constitution.
12
13 (END)