Fufeng-related bills passed, signed and on way to becoming law in North Dakota

May 29—GRAND FORKS — After three bills related to foreign governments purchasing land in the North Dakota were introduced during the recently completed legislative session, two have since been signed by Gov. Doug Burgum and are set to become law later this year.

House Bill 1135, which will ban foreign governments and businesses they control from buying agricultural land in the state, easily passed both the House and Senate.

Burgum signed the bill on April 20

, and it was filed with the secretary of state on April 21. The law will go into effect in August.

Rep. Lawrence Klemin, R-Bismarck, who introduced the bill,

previously told Forum News Service

that he decided to sponsor the bill after hearing from several constituents who raised concerns about the proposed Fufeng wet corn mill plant in Grand Forks, and specifically about Fufeng's ties to Chinese.

The project eventually was abandoned by the city after the Air Force declared the Fufeng mill a threat to national security. In February, Grand Forks City Council members

voted 5-0 to stop the project.

"A foreign government may have unlimited resources, and how much land are we going to let them buy?" Klemin said in January, shortly after the bill was introduced.

Amendments to the bill include that the prohibition on foreign ownership of agricultural land wouldn't apply to land that is used for "agriculture research and development or experimental purposes, including testing, developing or producing crop production inputs, including seed, fertilizer, pesticides, soil amendments, plants or biologicals."

Another amendment sets the exception for the number of acres that can be used for research at 160 acres.

A "foreign government," as listed in the bill, doesn't include Canada or its provinces or territories.

House Bill 1135 also will not affect land held by a foreign government before July 1, 2023.

Also,

Senate Bill 2371

has been signed by Burgum. Like House Bill 1135, SB 2371 easily was approved in House and Senate votes.

Introduced by Sen. Bob Paulson, R-Minot, it states that county and city boards "including a board in a home rule county, may not procure, authorize, or approve a development agreement, building plan, or proposal relating to county development with an individual or government identified as a foreign adversary" by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

The prohibition wouldn't apply if a registered business owned by a foreign adversary in the state:

* has maintained "good standing" status with the secretary of state for seven years or longer before the effective date of the bill;

* has been approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS);

* and maintains an active national security agreement with the federal government.

Like Klemin, Paulson said the bill was in response to concerns raised by the Fufeng project.

The bill also calls for a legislative management study to be pursued during the 2023-24 interim to determine the "number of persons that own or control any real estate or commercial assets or operate a business within this state which is owned by, controlled by or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of foreign adversaries or individuals acting on behalf of or in conjunction with foreign adversaries or persons listed on the office of foreign assets control sanctions list."

Burgum signed the bill on April 29, and filed it with the secretary of state on May 1. It too will become law in August.

A third bill introduced this session, House Bill 1503, sought to prohibit foreign ownership of real property in North Dakota. It

failed 45-2 during a Senate floor

vote on March 20 due to its similarities to Senate Bill 2371.

Several Grand Forks legislators

voiced their opinion on the Fufeng matter

to the Herald, citing Grand Forks as as an example when the bills were crafted.

"I think one of the realities of that experience is that it did draw attention statewide and beyond, and so it made people think about this," Rep. Mark Sanford, R-Grand Forks, told the Herald last month.