S-4182.1
SENATE BILL 6290
State of Washington | 68th Legislature | 2024 Regular Session |
BySenators Wagoner and Dozier
Read first time 01/22/24.Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.
AN ACT Relating to ownership of agricultural real estate; and amending RCW
64.16.005.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW
64.16.005 and 2012 c 117 s 195 are each amended to read as follows:
((Any))(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, any alien may acquire and hold lands, or any right thereto, or interest therein, by purchase, devise, or descent; and he or she may convey, mortgage, and devise the same, and if he or she shall die intestate, the same shall descend to his or her heirs, and in all cases such lands shall be held, conveyed, mortgaged, or devised, or shall descend in like manner and with like effect as if such alien were a native citizen of this state or of the United States.
(2)(a) On or after August 1, 2024, nonresident aliens, or their agents, trustees, or fiduciaries are prohibited from directly acquiring any interest in agricultural, forest, or mineral land unless the original country of citizenship allows citizens of the United States to own agricultural real property. This section does not apply to United States citizens who simultaneously maintain citizenship in a foreign country.
(b) The restrictions on alien land ownership contained in (a) of this subsection do not apply to:
(i) Land that may be acquired by devise, inheritance, as security for indebtedness, by process of law in collection of debts, or by any procedure for the enforcement of a lien or claim thereon, whether created by mortgage or otherwise. Land acquired in the collection of debts or by the enforcement of a lien or claim must be disposed of within three years of acquiring ownership; or
(ii) Citizens or subjects of a foreign country whose rights to hold land are secured by treaty or citizens or subjects of a foreign country that allows citizens of the United States to own land within its borders.
(c) This prohibition does not apply to agricultural land associated with food processing facilities.
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