ND Legislators pass bill designed to outlaw purchase of land by foreign governments

(Bismarck, ND) -- A bill outlawing the purchase of North Dakota land by foreign governments appears to be on its way to becoming state law.

Officials say legislators passed Senate Bill 2371 last week. Citing national-security threats, proponents argued that the measure is necessary in order to prevent foreign adversaries from buying land within state lines. Administration officials say Governor Doug Burgum is likely to sign the bill. A related bill barring foreign governments from buying agricultural in North Dakota was enacted earlier this month.

The passage of these bills follow the official termination of the Fufeng deal in Grand Forks on April 21st, and the official pause that was put in place on February 7th. The deal included the purchase of land for the purpose of building a corn milling and processing plant miles from the Grand Forks Air Force Base.