Section 442.592

Title XXIX OWNERSHIP AND CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTY

Chapter 442

Effective - 28 Aug 1995   

  442.592.  Report required — content — failure to file, civil penalty, venue — foreign person, defined — rules, procedure. — 1.  For the purposes of this section, the term "foreign person" means:

  (1)  An individual who is not a citizen of the United States and who has not been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act or who has not been made a citizen by an act of Congress;

  (2)  An entity, other than an individual or a government, that is created or organized under the laws of a nation other than the United States, or that has its principal place of business in a foreign nation;

  (3)  An entity, other than an individual or a government, that is created or organized under the laws of the United States or of some state, territory, trusteeship or protectorate of the United States and that, as defined in regulations to be prescribed by the director, is substantially controlled by individuals referred to in subdivision (1) of this subsection, entities referred to in subdivision (2) of this subsection, governments of foreign nations, or any combination of such individuals, entities, or governments; and

  (4)  A government of a foreign nation.

  2.  Any foreign person who holds any interest (including leaseholds of ten or more years and beneficial interests in the agricultural land under contracts of sale or similar arrangements), other than a security interest, in agricultural land on September 28, 1979, shall submit, or have a designated agent submit, a report to the director of agriculture not later than sixty days after September 28, 1979; provided, however, that no reporting requirement attaches to any holding by an alien or a foreign person or a foreign business of an interest in agricultural land for the extraction, refining, processing or transportation of oil, gas, coal or lignite.  Such report shall be submitted in such manner as the director shall prescribe by regulation and shall contain:

  (1)  The legal name and address of the foreign person;

  (2)  In any case in which the foreign person is an individual, the citizenship of the foreign person;

  (3)  In any case in which the foreign person is not an individual or a government:

  (a)  The nation in which the foreign person is created or organized;

  (b)  The principal place of business of the foreign person;

  (c)  The legal name and address of each person who holds a substantial interest (as defined in regulations to be prescribed by the director) in the foreign person and, in any case in which the holder of such an interest is an individual, the citizenship of the holder and, in any case in which the holder of such an interest is not an individual or a government, the nation in which the holder is created or organized and the principal place of business of the holder;

  (4)  The type of interest in the agricultural land that is held by the foreign person;

  (5)  A legal description of the agricultural land, including the county in which the land is located and the total acreage involved;

  (6)  The date of acquisition of the interest and the purchase price paid for, or any other consideration given for, the interest;

  (7)  A declaration of the type of agricultural activity engaged in by the reporting foreign person;

  (8)  In the case where any foreign person holds an interest in agricultural land for the purposes outlined in section 442.591, a declaration of intent as to the intended use of the land.

  3.  No rule or portion of a rule promulgated under the authority of sections 442.560 to 442.591 shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the provisions of section 536.024.

  4.  Any foreign person who acquires or transfers any interest (including leaseholds of ten years or more and beneficial interests in the agricultural land under contracts of sale or similar arrangements), other than a security interest, in agricultural land shall submit, or have a designated agent submit, a report to the director not later than thirty days after the date of such acquisition or transfer; provided, however, that no reporting requirement attaches to an acquisition or transfer by an alien or a foreign person or a foreign business of an interest in agricultural land for the extraction, refining, processing, or transportation of oil, gas, coal or lignite.  Such report shall be submitted in such manner as the director shall prescribe by regulation and shall contain:

  (1)  The legal name and address of the foreign person;

  (2)  In any case in which the foreign person is an individual, the citizenship of the foreign person;

  (3)  In any case in which the foreign person is not an individual or a government:

  (a)  The nation in which the foreign person is created or organized;

  (b)  The principal place of business of the foreign person;

  (c)  The legal name and address of each person who holds a substantial interest (as defined in regulations to be prescribed by the director) in the foreign person and, in any case in which the holder of such an interest is an individual, the citizenship of the holder and, in any case in which the holder of such an interest is not an individual or a government, the nation in which the holder is created or organized and the principal place of business of the holder;

  (4)  The type of interest in the agricultural land that is acquired or transferred by the foreign person;

  (5)  A legal description of the agricultural land including the county in which the land is located and the total acreage involved;

  (6)  The purchase price paid or received for, or any other consideration given or received for, the interest;

  (7)  In any case in which the foreign person transfers the interest, the legal name and the address of the person to whom the interest is transferred, and

  (a)  In any case in which the transferee is an individual, the citizenship of the transferee; and

  (b)  In any case in which the transferee is not an individual or a government, the nation in which the transferee is created or organized and the principal place of business of the transferee;

  (8)  A declaration of the type of agricultural activity engaged in by the reporting foreign person;

  (9)  In the case where any foreign person acquires an interest in agricultural land for the purposes outlined in section 442.591, a declaration of intent as to the intended use of the land.

  5.  The director may promulgate rules and regulations pertaining to the form and content of reports required by this section; the procedures for filing such reports; and the analysis and distribution of findings and determinations based on the reports required by this section.

  6.  (1)  The director shall:

  (a)  Analyze the information obtained under this section 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 governor and each house of the general assembly a report on the director's findings and conclusions regarding each analysis and determination made under paragraph (a) above;

  (2)  An analysis and determination shall be made, and a report on the director's findings and conclusions regarding such analysis and determination transmitted:

  (a)  With respect to information obtained by the director under this section during the six-month period following September 28, 1979, within nine months after such date;

  (b)  With respect to information obtained by the director under this section during the twelve-month period following September 28, 1979, within fifteen months after such date; and

  (c)  With respect to each calendar year following the twelve-month period referred to in paragraph (b), within ninety days after the end of such calendar year.

  7.  Any foreign person who fails to file a report required under the provisions of this section is liable to the state in civil penalty.  The civil penalty shall be determined by the circuit court in an amount not to exceed twenty-five percent of the fair market value of the interest in agricultural land with respect to which the violations occurred on the date of the assessment of the penalty.  The attorney general shall recover the amount of any civil penalty assessed in a civil action in the circuit court in the county in which any part of the land involved is located.

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(L. 1979 S.B. 34, A.L. 1993 S.B. 52, A.L. 1995 S.B. 3)