Ohio lawmakers look to stop foreign entity land buys

A bill expected to be taken up by the Ohio House later this year would stop specific foreign countries from buying land near an Ohio military installation or critical infrastructure.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, already passed the Senate with just one no vote and no opposition testimony in committee.

"It is absurd to think that our adversaries can purchase land within close distance to our state's military hubs and infrastructure sites, threatening our national security," Johnson said. "Communist Chinese firms and companies alone own 380,000 acres of our country’s farmland. Ohio’s land should not be for sale to those who seek to destroy the American way of life.”

The legislation would prevent people, businesses, organizations and governments from buying land within 25 miles of an installation such as a base or airport and critical infrastructure facilities.

The Ohio secretary of state would compile the list of individuals and entities using specific guidelines, including the U.S. Secretary of Commerce’s foreign adversaries list and the terrorist exclusion list.

“Senate Bill 226 protects us against this obvious danger," Johnson said. "While many states in America have yet to see this as a threat to our national security, that it is, Ohio is fully aware, and moving this bill forward will send a clear message to not just the People’s Republic of China but to all of America’s recognized adversaries.”

The bill also offers personal ability protection for brokers, agents and other real estate professionals, who would not have to conduct background checks on clients.

Evan Callicoat, with the Ohio Farm Bureau, told lawmakers Congress has introduced bipartisan legislation that would strengthen current law on reporting foreign land ownership. The bill was co-sponsored by both Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio.

“Land owned by foreign adversaries is only the latest threat to protecting farmland not just in Ohio, but across the country," Callicoat said. "In the most recent ‘Ag Census’ published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ohio has lost nearly 300,000 acres of farmland in the last five years. In most if not all cases, that land will never be able to be productive farmland again, which is a unique issue that our industry faces compared to others.”