S.D. Looks To Tally Foreign Landholdings

Agricultural landowners in South Dakota are being tapped to help tally how much land in the state is owned by foreign countries.

The measure, which awaits only Republican Gov. Kristi Noem's signature, is one in a pair of bills South Dakota lawmakers have advanced to set new regulations for the state's business relationships with foreign entities.

With Noem's final approval, agricultural landowners will be required to report whether businesses are owned by foreign entities in effort to help legislators determine how much land is owned by foreign countries. The second bill, which was expected to pass the legislature Thursday, is meant to prohibit government partnerships with businesses owned or controlled overseas.

The bills fall into Noem's agenda targeting Chinese economic influence in the state. Already she's banned TikTok, the China-based social media platform, from state-owned devices over concerns about surveillance and has reported that South Dakota has no direct investments in the world's second largest economy.

"I'm happy that we took this first step," Republican House Majority Leader Will Mortenson said after the final hearing on his bill to report foreign landowners.

In a Senate hearing last week, Republican Sen. Jim Stalzer said his experience in military and government cybersecurity roles has shaped his concerns that foreign countries, namely China, will profit from U.S. data.

Source:nwaonline.com