Bill signed to crack down on illegal foreign ownership of Oklahoma land

OKLAHOMA CITY – Legislation was signed this week to stop the proliferation of illegal purchases of Oklahoma land by aliens and non-U.S. citizens since the legalization of medical marijuana. Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, authored Senate Bill 212 to keep such individuals from directly or indirectly, through a business entity or trust, owning land in the state, unless otherwise authorized by law.

“While there is more work to do, SB 212 is an important step to help us shut down the foreign buy-out of our state by communist China and cartels,” Bullard said. “I’m proud of the work we have put into shutting this down, and I am thankful for Representative Humphrey for his hard work and dedication to this cause as well as the Governor for signing it into law.”

Currently, it is illegal for non-U.S. citizens to acquire or own land in Oklahoma, and if they acquire it “by devise or descent,” they must dispose of it within five years. SB 212 addresses the common practice of foreigners using “straw owners”, which can be individuals, businesses, or trusts, to fraudulently complete real estate transactions to get around the law. It requires any deed recorded with a county clerk to include an affidavit signed by the person or entity coming into title attesting that the individual, business entity, or trust is lawfully obtaining the land and that no funding source is being used in the sale or transfer that violates any state or federal laws. The bill further requires an affidavit before a county clerk may record any deed. The attorney general will create a separate affidavit for individuals and business entities or trusts to comply with the new law. Businesses engaged in regulated interstate commerce in accordance with federal law are exempt from this prohibition.

Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, is the House principal author of the legislation.

"Anything we can do to stop the drug cartels and the Chinese Communist party from operating illegally in our state, we are going to try to do. This bill helps us stop illegal straw sales of our farmland to these bad actors. I'm grateful to Senator Bullard for his work on this and the governor for his signature, making this law," Humphrey said.

The new law will go into effect Nov. 1, 2023.

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Bullard: (405) 521-5586 or David.Bullard@oksenate.gov