Bill Summary
The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Reform Act is a bill that aims to increase oversight and enforcement of foreign investment in agricultural lands within the United States. It requires annual reports to be submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture and to Congress, detailing information on foreign investment in agricultural land. A database will also be created and regularly updated on the Department of Agriculture's website, listing the agricultural lands owned by foreign persons. The bill also includes a civil penalty for failure to report or misreporting and clarifies the definition of a foreign person as someone with a 25% or more interest or control in the land.
Possible Impacts
1. The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Reform Act could affect farmers and rural communities, as the legislation requires an annual report on the effects of foreign investment in agricultural land. This could potentially impact the availability and accessibility of land for local farmers.
2. The legislation could also affect foreign investors, as they would be required to report and disclose their ownership of agricultural land in the US. They may face penalties if they fail to comply with reporting requirements or misreport their ownership.
3. The clarification of the definition of a "foreign person" in the legislation could affect individuals or companies with less than 25% ownership or control over agricultural land. They may be exempt from reporting requirements, potentially impacting the accuracy and completeness of the annual reports to Congress.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8522 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8522
To amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 to
increase oversight and enforcement with respect to foreign investment
in agricultural lands within the United States, and for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 2, 2020
Mr. Pocan (for himself and Mr. San Nicolas) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
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A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 to
increase oversight and enforcement with respect to foreign investment
in agricultural lands within the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Agricultural Foreign Investment
Disclosure Reform Act''.
SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY.
Section 2(b) of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act
of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501(b)) is amended, in the matter preceding
paragraph (1), by striking ``agricultural land'' and all that follows
through ``effective date.'' and inserting the following: ``agricultural
land on the day before the date of the enactment of the Agricultural
Foreign Investment Disclosure Reform Act shall, beginning 180 days
after such date of enactment, and annually thereafter, submit to the
Secretary a report.''.
SEC. 3. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 is
amended by inserting after section 4 (7 U.S.C. 3503) the following:
``SEC. 5. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
``(a) Beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment of the
Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Reform Act, and annually
thereafter, the Secretary shall, using information obtained under
section 2, submit to the Congress a report on foreign investment in
agricultural land in the United States.
``(b) Beginning 90 days after the date of the enactment of the
Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Reform Act, the Secretary
shall, using information obtained under section 2, publish on the
internet website of the Department of Agriculture, and update every 90
days thereafter, a database listing the agricultural lands owned by
foreign persons. Such listing shall be limited to the information
described in paragraphs (1), (3), (4), (5), and (7) of section 2(b).
``(c)(1) Not later than 90 days after the end of each covered
period, the Secretary shall--
``(A) analyze information obtained by the Secretary
under section 2 and determine the effects of foreign
persons acquiring, transferring, and holding
agricultural land, particularly the effects of such
acquisitions, transfers, and holdings on family farms
and rural communities; and
``(B) transmit to the President and each House of
the Congress a report on the Secretary's findings and
conclusions regarding--
``(i) each analysis and determination made
under paragraph (1); and
``(ii) the effectiveness and efficiency of
the reporting requirements contained in section
2 in providing the information required to be
reported by such section.
``(2) In this subsection, the term `covered period' means each of
the following periods:
``(A) The 10-year period beginning on the date of the
enactment of Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Reform
Act.
``(B) Each 10-year period thereafter.''.
SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO REPORT OR MISREPORTING.
Section 3(b) of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act
of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3502(b)) is amended by striking ``, except that such
amount shall not exceed 25 percent of the fair market value, on the
date of the assessment of such penalty, of the interest in agricultural
land with respect to which such violation occurred''.
SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF FOREIGN PERSON DEFINITION.
(a) In General.--Section 9(3)(C)(ii) of the Agricultural Foreign
Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508(3)(C)(ii)) is amended,
in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking ``a significant
interest or substantial control'' and inserting ``not less than 25-
percent interest or not less than 25-percent control''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply beginning with the first report submitted under section 2 of the
Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501)
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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