SSSB 139: "An Act relating to who may own or hold certain land; relating to certain agreements having to do with critical infrastructure; and providing for an effective date."
00 SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 139 01 "An Act relating to who may own or hold certain land; relating to certain agreements 02 having to do with critical infrastructure; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 34 is amended by adding a new chapter to read: 05 Chapter 87. Holding of Land by Nonresident Persons. 06 Sec. 34.87.010. Persons prohibited from acquiring or leasing land within 07 100 miles of a military installation in the state. (a) Except as provided in (c) of this 08 section, a person or entity listed in AS 34.87.040(a) may not purchase, lease, or 09 otherwise acquire land in the state that is within 100 miles of a military installation. 10 (b) Land purchased, leased, or otherwise acquired in violation of (a) of this 11 section is subject to forfeiture by the attorney general as authorized under 12 AS 34.87.020. However, title to land may not be invalidated and land may not be 13 forfeited under this section because a prior owner or holder of the land violated this 14 section.
01 (c) This section does not apply to 02 (1) a lease of residential property or a dwelling unit; 03 (2) the purchase, lease, or acquisition of land by a person who is a 04 United States citizen and a citizen of a country designated by the United States 05 Secretary of Commerce as a foreign adversary under 15 C.F.R. 791.4. 06 (d) In this section, 07 (1) "dwelling unit" has the meaning given in AS 34.03.360; 08 (2) "military installation" means a base, camp, post, station, yard, 09 center, homeport facility for a ship, armory, or other installation under the jurisdiction 10 of the United States Department of Defense, the United States Coast Guard, the 11 Alaska National Guard, the Alaska Naval Militia, or the Alaska State Defense Force. 12 Sec. 34.87.020. Investigation and enforcement of violations of 13 AS 34.87.010. (a) If the attorney general receives evidence of a probable violation of 14 AS 34.87.010, the attorney general shall investigate the alleged violation. 15 (b) The attorney general shall bring an action for forfeiture of an interest in 16 land held in violation of AS 34.87.010 in the judicial district in which the land is 17 located. The attorney general shall record in the recording district in which the land is 18 located a certificate containing the caption and case number of the action and a 19 description of the land. If the court finds that an interest in land in the state is acquired, 20 owned, or held in violation of AS 34.87.010, the court may enter a judgment of 21 forfeiture vesting title to the land in the state, subject to any outstanding liens. The 22 attorney general shall record a certified copy of the court's judgment under this 23 subsection in the recording district in which the land is located. The following apply to 24 a forfeiture proceeding following the court's entering of a judgment of forfeiture under 25 this section: 26 (1) the attorney general shall, if warranted, request the court to appoint 27 a receiver to take over and manage the land before its sale; 28 (2) the attorney general, with the assistance of the Department of 29 Natural Resources, shall sell the land under AS 38.05; 30 (3) when the land is sold, the attorney general shall disburse the 31 proceeds of the sale to lienholders, in an order of priority determined by the
01 lienholders, except for liens that, under the terms of the judgment of forfeiture, are to 02 remain on the property; 03 (4) a lienholder may bid the lienholder's credit, in an amount that is not 04 more than the amount owed to the lienholder on the date of the sale, as determined by 05 the court in the judgment of forfeiture for the property; and 06 (5) no portion of the proceeds may be distributed to the person from 07 whom the land was forfeited, and all proceeds shall be deposited in the general fund. 08 (c) A person may not be held civilly or criminally liable for failing to 09 determine or inquire whether another person is prohibited from acquiring or leasing 10 land under AS 34.87.010. 11 (d) A forfeiture under this section does not void, invalidate, or otherwise 12 extinguish any bona fide mortgage, lien, or other interest granted by, through, or under 13 the person from whom the land was forfeit. 14 Sec. 34.87.030. Right of nonresident alien to acquire, hold, and convey 15 land. (a) Except as provided in AS 34.87.010 and 34.87.040, a person who is a 16 nonresident alien, whether the person resides in the United States or a foreign country, 17 may 18 (1) acquire real estate by purchase, devise, or descent; 19 (2) hold and enjoy real estate; and 20 (3) convey, devise, transmit, mortgage, or otherwise encumber real 21 estate in the same manner and with the same effect as citizens of the United States. 22 (b) The title of any real estate inherited, mortgaged, conveyed, or devised is 23 not affected by the alienage of a person from or through whom the title is claimed or 24 derived. 25 Sec. 34.87.040. Limitations on the ownership of agricultural land. (a) 26 Except as provided in (c) and (d) of this section, the following persons may not, 27 directly or indirectly, acquire or lease an interest prohibited under (b) of this section in 28 agricultural land in the state: 29 (1) a person who is a citizen of a country designated as a foreign 30 adversary by the United States Secretary of Commerce under 15 C.F.R. 791.4; or 31 (2) a foreign business entity that is
01 (A) wholly owned by, or the majority of stock or other 02 ownership interest of the foreign business entity is held or controlled by, 03 (i) persons who are citizens of a country designated as a 04 foreign adversary by the United States Secretary of Commerce under 05 15 C.F.R. 791.4; 06 (ii) a business entity or other entity, including a 07 governmental entity, that is owned or controlled by citizens of, or is 08 directly controlled by the government of, a person or country 09 designated as a foreign adversary by the United States Secretary of 10 Commerce under 15 C.F.R. 791.4; or 11 (B) headquartered in a country that the United States Secretary 12 of Commerce has designated as a foreign adversary under 15 C.F.R. 791.4. 13 (b) Except as provided in (c) and (d) of this section, a person listed under (a) 14 of this section may not 15 (1) acquire by grant, purchase, devise, descent, or otherwise acquire 16 (A) an interest in agricultural land located in the state; or 17 (B) mineral, water, or riparian rights on or in agricultural land 18 located in the state; 19 (2) lease 20 (A) agricultural land located in the state; or 21 (B) mineral, water, or riparian rights on or in any agricultural 22 land located in the state. 23 (c) This section does not apply to a person who is a United States citizen and a 24 citizen of a country designated by the United States Secretary of Commerce as a 25 foreign adversary under 15 C.F.R. 791.4. 26 (d) Notwithstanding the limitations of this section, a person listed under (a) of 27 this section may continue leasing, or renew a lease of, agricultural land, if the person 28 leased the land before July 1, 2025, and the acreage and land subject to the lease does 29 not change. 30 (e) A person may not be held civilly or criminally liable for failing to 31 determine or inquire whether another person is subject to this section.
01 (f) A purchase, acquisition, or lease of agricultural land in violation of this 02 section is subject to forfeiture by the attorney general as authorized under 03 AS 34.87.050. 04 Sec. 34.87.050. Investigation and enforcement of violations of 05 AS 34.87.040. (a) If the attorney general receives evidence of a probable violation of 06 AS 34.87.040, the attorney general shall investigate the alleged violation and may 07 issue subpoenas to require the attendance of witnesses or the production of documents 08 or other physical evidence, administer oaths, and conduct hearings to aid an 09 investigation or inquiry. Service of an order or subpoena must be made in the same 10 manner as a summons in a civil action in the superior court. 11 (b) The attorney general shall bring an action for forfeiture of an interest in 12 agricultural land held in violation of AS 34.87.040 in the judicial district in which the 13 agricultural land is located. The attorney general shall record in the recording district 14 in which the agricultural land is located a certificate containing the caption and case 15 number of the action and a description of the agricultural land. If the court finds that 16 an interest in agricultural land in the state is acquired, owned, or held in violation of 17 AS 34.87.040, the court may enter a judgment of forfeiture vesting title to the 18 agricultural land in the state, subject to any outstanding liens. The attorney general 19 shall record a certified copy of the court's judgment under this subsection in the 20 recording district in which the agricultural land is located. The following apply to a 21 forfeiture proceeding following the court's entering of a judgment of forfeiture under 22 this section: 23 (1) the attorney general shall, if warranted, request the court to appoint 24 a receiver to take over and manage the agricultural land before its sale; 25 (2) the attorney general, with the assistance of the Department of 26 Natural Resources, shall sell the land under AS 38.05; 27 (3) when the agricultural land is sold, the attorney general shall 28 disburse the proceeds of the sale to lienholders, in the order of priority determined by 29 the lienholders, except for liens that, under the terms of the judgment of forfeiture, are 30 to remain on the property; 31 (4) a lienholder may bid the lienholder's credit, in an amount that is not
01 more than the amount owed to the lienholder on the date of the sale, as determined by 02 the court in the judgment of forfeiture for the property; and 03 (5) no portion of the proceeds may be distributed to the person from 04 whom the agricultural land was forfeited, and all proceeds shall be deposited in the 05 general fund. 06 (c) A person may not be held civilly or criminally liable for failing to 07 determine or inquire whether another person is prohibited from acquiring or leasing 08 land under AS 34.87.040. 09 (d) Title to agricultural land may not be invalidated and agricultural land may 10 not be forfeited under this section because a prior owner or holder of the agricultural 11 land violated AS 34.87.040. 12 (e) A forfeiture under this section does not void, invalidate, or otherwise 13 extinguish any bona fide mortgage, lien, or other interest granted by, through, or under 14 the person from whom the land was forfeit. 15 Sec. 34.87.090. Definitions. In this chapter, 16 (1) "agricultural land" means land used for crop farming, timber 17 production, or pasture; 18 (2) "crop farming" means the cultivation of land for the production of 19 plants or plant products that can be grown and harvested exclusively for profit or 20 subsistence; 21 (3) "foreign business entity" includes 22 (A) a corporation, professional corporation, nonprofit 23 corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership that is 24 organized under the laws of another country, or similar entity; and 25 (B) an agent, trustee, or fiduciary of the entity. 26 * Sec. 2. AS 45 is amended by adding a new chapter to read: 27 Chapter 46. Critical Infrastructure Agreements. 28 Sec. 45.46.010. Restrictions on critical infrastructure agreements with 29 certain companies. (a) A person, state agency, or political subdivision of the state 30 may not enter into an agreement relating to a critical infrastructure facility in the state 31 with a company if
01 (1) the company would be able to directly or remotely access or 02 control the facility or a cybersecurity system related to the facility under the 03 agreement; and 04 (2) the company is 05 (A) owned by, or the majority of stock or other ownership 06 interest of the company is held or controlled by, 07 (i) persons who are citizens of a country designated by 08 the United States Secretary of Commerce as a foreign adversary under 09 15 C.F.R. 791.4; or 10 (ii) a company or other entity, including a governmental 11 entity, that is owned or controlled by citizens of, or is directly 12 controlled by the government of, a country designated by the United 13 States Secretary of Commerce as a foreign adversary under 15 C.F.R. 14 791.4; or 15 (B) headquartered in a country designated by the United States 16 Secretary of Commerce as a foreign adversary under 15 C.F.R. 791.4. 17 (b) This section applies to a company regardless of whether 18 (1) the company's securities, or the securities of its parent company, 19 are publicly traded; or 20 (2) the company or the company's parent company is listed on a public 21 stock exchange as a company headquartered in a country designated by the United 22 States Secretary of Commerce as a foreign adversary under 15 C.F.R. 791.4. 23 (c) In this section, 24 (1) "company" means a person, other than an individual, organized for 25 business or profit-making purposes; 26 (2) "critical infrastructure facility" 27 (A) includes 28 (i) a facility used for manufacturing, mineral 29 exploration, steel making, refining, hazardous waste, transmission and 30 storage of electricity, water treatment, communications, transportation, 31 or the storage or transport of oil, gas, or other minerals;
01 (ii) a dam or reservoir regulated by the Department of 02 Natural Resources, port, railway, railroad switching yard, or trucking 03 terminal; 04 (iii) a facility used by the industry or a utility; 05 (iv) a facility whose owner or operator is required to 06 submit a risk management plan under 42 U.S.C. 7412(r) (Chemical 07 Safety Information, Site Security and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act) or 08 that is regulated under United States Department of Homeland Security 09 Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards; and 10 (v) a military installation; 11 (B) does not include 12 (i) land, an easement, or a right-of-way that is not 13 completely enclosed, posted, and maintained by an electric or natural 14 gas utility; or 15 (ii) a railroad track that is not part of a railroad 16 switching yard; 17 (3) "cybersecurity system" means a system designed to protect a 18 computer, computer network, computer system, or other technology infrastructure 19 against unauthorized use or access; 20 (4) "military installation" has the meaning given in AS 34.87.010(d). 21 * Sec. 3. This Act takes effect July 1, 2025.