House File 2740 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2740 BY SCHOLTEN , RAMIREZ , BAETH , KONFRST , BROWN-POWERS , COOLING , WILBURN , LEVIN , B. MEYER , BAGNIEWSKI , KRESSIG , JACOBY , CROKEN , MADISON , McBURNEY , EHLERT , R. JOHNSON , GOSA , GJERDE , OLSON , KURTH , WESSEL-KROESCHELL , TUREK , and JAMES A BILL FOR An Act relating to the confidentiality of certain information 1 filed with the secretary of state by foreign persons holding 2 agricultural land. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5658YH (5) 91 da/js

H.F. 2740 Section 1. Section 9I.7, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2026, 1 is amended to read as follows: 2 A nonresident alien, foreign business, or foreign 3 government, or an agent, trustee, or fiduciary thereof, which 4 that owns an interest in agricultural land within this state on 5 or after January 1, 1980, shall register the agricultural land 6 with the secretary of state. The registration shall be made 7 within sixty days after January 1, 1980, or within sixty days 8 after acquiring the land or the interest in land, whichever is 9 later. The registration shall be made online or in the form 10 and manner prescribed by the secretary of state. Information 11 described in this section is a confidential record and subject 12 to use in the same manner as provided in section 10B.5. As part 13 of the registration, the nonresident alien, foreign business, 14 or foreign government, or an agent, trustee, or fiduciary 15 thereof, shall file all of the following information: 16 Sec. 2. Section 10B.5, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended 17 to read as follows: 18 2. Information Except as provided in section 10B.5A, 19 information in reports required in this chapter is a 20 confidential record as provided in section 22.7 . The attorney 21 general may have access to the reports, and may use information 22 in the reports in any action to enforce state law, including 23 but not limited to chapters 9H and 9I . The reports shall 24 be made available to members of the general assembly and 25 appropriate committees of the general assembly in order to 26 determine the extent that agricultural land is held in this 27 state by corporations and other business and foreign entities 28 and the effect of such land ownership upon the economy of this 29 state. The secretary of state shall assist any committee of 30 the general assembly studying these issues. 31 Sec. 3. Section 10B.5A, Code 2026, is amended to read as 32 follows: 33 10B.5A Annual summary to governor and general assembly —— 34 foreign landholdings . 35 -1- LSB 5658YH (5) 91 da/js 1/ 3

H.F. 2740 The secretary of state shall prepare an annual summary of 1 foreign landholding. The summary must be a report summarizing 2 the compiled information included in the current registrations 3 filed pursuant to section 9I.7 and the last reports filed 4 pursuant to section 10B.4 . The information is a confidential 5 record as provided in section 22.7 . The attorney general may 6 have access to the annual summary and may use information 7 in the annual summary in any action to enforce state law, 8 including but not limited to chapters 9H and 9I , and this 9 chapter . The annual summary shall be made available to the 10 governor, members of the general assembly, and appropriate 11 committees of the general assembly in order to determine the 12 extent that agricultural land is held in this state by foreign 13 entities and the effect of such land ownership upon the economy 14 of this state. Upon request, the secretary of state shall 15 assist any committee of the general assembly studying these 16 issues. 17 EXPLANATION 18 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 19 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 20 BILL’S PROVISIONS. This bill provides that information in a 21 registration required to be filed by a foreign person holding 22 agricultural land in this state and a summary report by the 23 secretary of state (secretary) of compiled information included 24 in the last registrations and biennial reports filed by foreign 25 persons is no longer confidential. 26 BACKGROUND —— RESTRICTIONS UPON A FOREIGN PERSON HOLDING 27 AN INTEREST IN AGRICULTURAL LAND. Code chapter 9I restricts 28 certain foreign persons from acquiring or holding a legal 29 interest in agricultural land suitable for farming if the 30 agricultural land was acquired on or after January 1, 1980 31 (Code section 9I.3). Certain exceptions apply. However, 32 generally a foreign person must convert the agricultural land 33 to a purpose other than farming within five years. A foreign 34 person includes a foreign business (e.g., a corporation formed 35 -2- LSB 5658YH (5) 91 da/js 2/ 3

H.F. 2740 in another country), a foreign government, or a nonresident 1 alien (not a United States citizen or a person admitted for 2 permanent residence in the United States). The restriction 3 also applies to an authorized representative acting on behalf 4 of the foreign person as an agent, trustee, or fiduciary. 5 BACKGROUND —— REGISTRATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. A 6 foreign person acquiring an interest in agricultural land 7 must register with the secretary (Code section 9I.7). The 8 registration must include information regarding the foreign 9 person and the person’s agricultural landholdings. The foreign 10 person is also required to file a biennial report with the 11 secretary, which must include updates to the information 12 stated in the person’s latest filed registration (Code section 13 10B.4). The report must also include detailed information 14 regarding the agricultural land held by the foreign person. 15 The secretary must prepare an annual summary report of the 16 compiled information included in the last filed registrations 17 and biennial reports (Code section 10B.5A). Information 18 included in the registrations, reports, and summary report is 19 confidential notwithstanding Iowa’s open records law (Code 20 chapter 22). However, the secretary’s summary report must 21 be made available to the governor and members of the general 22 assembly. 23 BACKGROUND —— ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES. The attorney 24 general may conduct an inquiry or investigation regarding 25 an alleged violation of a registration requirement (Code 26 section 9I.10) or the biennial reporting requirement (Code 27 section 10B.4). A foreign person who fails to file a 28 timely registration is subject to a penalty of not more than 29 25 percent of the county’s assessed value of the subject 30 agricultural land for the previous year for each offense (Code 31 section 9I.12). A foreign person who fails to file a biennial 32 report is subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 (Code 33 section 10B.6). 34 -3- LSB 5658YH (5) 91 da/js 3/ 3