RALEIGH — A bill filed by House members of the General Assembly would protect farmland and land near military bases from being owned by foreign entities.
House Bill 133, the NC Farmland and Military Protection Act, was filed Feb. 17 with primary sponsors Reps. Jennifer Balkcom (R-Henderson), Neal Jackson (R-Moore), Jeff Zenger (R-Forsyth) and John Bell (R-Wayne). The bill has bipartisan support, with more than 40 House members signing on to the measure.
“Having grown up on a family farm, I know how important it is to preserve North Carolina’s farmland,” said Balkcom in a press release. “Our state’s agricultural land is one of our most important assets and it is common sense that we protect it from foreign enemies.”
The bill aims to prevent certain foreign governments designated as “adversarial” by the U.S. Department of State from acquiring agricultural and strategically important lands in North Carolina.
Specifically, the bill prohibits adversarial foreign governments and their state-controlled enterprises from purchasing, acquiring, leasing or holding any interest in agricultural land or land within 75 miles of military installations.
Bell, chair of the House Rules, Calendar and Operations Committee, said loopholes needed to be closed, and it is “a direct threat to our state and nation to allow China and other adversaries to buy farmland and property surrounding military bases.”
The bill lists specific military installations protected under the act, including Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station and several other military facilities across the state.
If passed, the act would be effective Dec. 1, 2025.
The House passed a similar bill during its 2023-24 session, but it was not taken up by the Senate.
Both chambers of Congress have introduced similar bills barring foreign adversaries from purchasing or owning U.S. farmland and protecting military bases. The House has a bill aimed at barring foreign entities from buying farmlands. The Senate has seen a separate bill filed to protect land around military installations with specific mention of countries such as China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
According to MultiState, a state and local government relations company, while dealing with foreign nations is generally the federal government’s job, states began to take action on foreign land ownership a few years ago.
MultiState told North State Journal it is currently tracking 115 bills across 35 states that would study the issue.
“This trend began in mostly Republican-controlled states in the South and Midwest, but it’s becoming more of a bi-partisan issue today with introductions in Democratic-controlled states as well,” MultiState said in an email to North State Journal.
