Prohibiting a foreign adversary from acquiring agricultural or forestry land in this state

1. An exploration mining lease and land used for certain mining and associated activities.

2. Certain manufacturing activities.

3. Certain mercantile activities.

4. A lease for exploration or production of oil, gas, coal, shale, and related hydrocarbons, including by-products of the production, and land used in connection with the exploration or production.

Those exceptions have been interpreted to be “extremely broad, embracing almost every conceivable business activity [other than a]ctivities relating to agriculture and forestry.” See Opinion of Wis. Att'y Gen., OAG 11-14, ¶5, available at https://www.doj.state.wi.us. In other words, under current law, a foreign person may acquire, own, and hold unlimited amounts of land for most nonagricultural and nonforestry purposes, but a foreign person may not acquire, own, or hold more than 640 acres of land for agricultural or forestry purposes.

The bill retains the current law restriction on foreign person ownership of agricultural and forestry land and adds a provision that prohibits a foreign adversary from acquiring any land for agricultural or forestry purposes.