Arizona would require a review commission's approval before land goes to hostile foreign entities

Land in Arizona could not be conveyed to a hostile foreign entity without approval from the foreign entity review commission. A foreign entity is a foreign government, a state-controlled enterprise of a foreign government, or an agent of either. Hostile means a foreign entity listed as a threat or country of concern by the director of national intelligence or the U.S. State Department. Sellers and their agents, including licensed real estate professionals, must send the state real estate department a valid ID for the buyer. For a business buyer, they must send the ID of its agent plus its name and principal place of business. Sellers, agents, and the department must keep copies of the identification. An ID is treated as valid unless it is plainly expired. The ban starts on the effective date of the section.

A new foreign entity review commission in the state real estate department would approve or reject proposed land deals with possible hostile foreign entities, and a rejected deal would be void. The commission has five members: the real estate commissioner, two people appointed by the Governor, one by the Senate president, and one by the House speaker. Every member except the commissioner serves a four-year term, and members elect a chairperson at the first meeting. The commission meets at the chairperson's call to consider proposed purchases, leases, or subleases of land.

Violators would owe a civil penalty, and people who knowingly break the rule would face criminal charges. This applies to anyone who breaks the land conveyance rule. The attorney general may bring the civil action. The civil penalty is the greater of $250,000 or 50 percent of the fair market value of the property interest involved. Knowing violations are a class 1 misdemeanor. They are a class 6 felony if any land is within 25 miles of a military installation or critical infrastructure, or if the person knowingly acted as an agent of a foreign government or took pay or direction from one.

Sales, leases, and subleases of state lands could not be made to a hostile foreign entity without the commission's approval, and the state land commissioner may refer proposed deals to the commission. This applies to state-owned land and uses the same definitions, penalties, and criminal charges as the private land rule. The limit starts on the effective date of the amendment.