{"id":58,"date":"2026-05-12T21:35:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T21:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=58"},"modified":"2026-05-12T21:35:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T21:35:57","slug":"nc-lawmakers-revamp-bills-to-bar-adversarial-nations-from-farmland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=58","title":{"rendered":"NC lawmakers revamp bills to bar \u2018adversarial\u2019 nations from farmland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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North Carolina lawmakers are revisiting bills that would ban certain foreign groups from purchasing farmland in the state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Clean energy groups challenge NC Utilities Commission chair\u2019s order to pause solar projects<\/a><\/p>\n

Republicans on Tuesday presented an updated version of <\/span>House Bill 133<\/span>, \u201cNC Farmland and Military Protection Act,\u201d which would prohibit \u201cadversarial\u201d foreign countries from buying agricultural land situated within 50 miles of a military installation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than listing each individual country, the \u201cadversarial\u201d nations would be the ones in the International Traffic and Arms Regulations list, according to Sen. Bob Brinson (R-Craven). These include countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s valuable to tie it to something we don\u2019t have to keep updating. The federal government actually updates that,\u201d Brinson told the Senate Judiciary Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Affected military installations include Fort Bragg, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and National Guard facilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, a version of the bill passed unanimously in the House, but stalled in the Senate. Brinson said he had worked with colleagues to address concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n

The earlier version would have barred foreign adversaries from purchasing land within 75 miles of a military base, while a companion, <\/span>Senate Bill 394<\/span>, \u201cProtect Foreign Ownership of NC Land,\u201d proposed a 25-mile radius.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lawmakers compromised on a 50-mile radius, Brinson said, and added National Guard facilities to the list of protected military installations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more NC residents to go hungry, counties to pay more for SNAP under federal changes<\/a><\/p>\n

But Senate Democrats raised concerns on Tuesday over the bill\u2019s framework.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sen. Lisa Grafstein (D-Wake) said portions of her southern Wake County district are within 50 miles of Fort Bragg.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are also a lot of folks who have immigrated here, either this generation or prior generations, who are from China, and a lot of folks who come and start small businesses in this growing area,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The bill\u2019s new version removed portions referring to individuals, Brinson said in response. It focuses on state-controlled enterprises and governments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn\u2019t have the expertise and the time, for that matter, to figure out how to write a substantive bill and not impact people we didn\u2019t want to impact,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Grafstein questioned the 50-mile radius, saying other states with similar legislation have settled on five or 10 miles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that a foreign government is going to set up in Holly Springs because Fort Bragg is 50 miles away,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know that there\u2019s a magic number, but a lot of other states have much smaller ranges, and I think there\u2019s a reason for that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Senate panel will take a vote on H133 at a later hearing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Changes were made to S394 as well, implementing the same language as H133.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The House Judiciary 2 Committee voted to approve the updated version of S394 Tuesday afternoon, sending it to the House Homeland Security and Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Some immigrants face indefinite detention, likely leading to Supreme Court case<\/a><\/p>\n

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