Allows for expropriation of land near military bases that is owned by foreign adversaries or agents of foreign adversaries when the ownership poses a threat to public health and safety. (gov sig) (RE SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

Senate Bill 200 enacts new Louisiana Revised Statutes section 29:43 to authorize the state Military Department to expropriate immovable property located within fifty miles of military bases when that property is owned, leased, possessed, or controlled by foreign adversaries or agents of foreign adversaries. The bill creates a legislative declaration establishing the policy that such ownership presents a threat to public health and safety justifying exercise of the state's constitutional police powers. The expropriation process follows the standard procedures established in Title 19, Part I of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, except that the Military Department's petition must include a statement demonstrating compliance with the statute and detailing the specific threat to public health and safety that expropriation will eliminate. The statute defines "foreign adversary" by reference to determinations made by the United States Secretary of Commerce and maintained in the Treasury Department's Foreign Assets Control database, and defines "agent of a foreign adversary" broadly to include entities controlled by such adversaries through ownership, voting rights, government control, citizenship composition, or other means.

Property owners identified as foreign adversaries or their agents who hold property near military installations face potential loss of their real property through the expropriation mechanism without regard to when the property was originally acquired. The Military Department becomes the authorized entity to initiate expropriation proceedings, and property taken under this authority must be handled according to the Louisiana Relocation Assistance Act, which provides certain protections and procedures for displaced persons. This provision applies retroactively to property acquisitions made before the statute's effective date, meaning existing foreign-owned or controlled properties within fifty miles of military bases could be subject to expropriation if the Military Department determines the ownership poses a threat to public health and safety.

The statute operates within the existing regulatory framework governing foreign investment in Louisiana real property established by Revised Statutes 9:2717.1 and following, which since August 1, 2023 has prohibited foreign adversaries and their agents from purchasing, leasing, or acquiring immovable property in the state and provided for contract rescission and judicial sales. Senate Bill 200 complements this prior prohibition by adding an expropriation remedy specifically for properties near military bases. The statute's reliance on federal determinations of foreign adversaries and the Treasury Department's Foreign Assets Control database integrates state law with federal national security designations. The bill invokes the state's constitutional police powers, indicating legislative intent to ground the expropriation authority in legitimate state interests in protecting military installations and public safety, a traditional basis for property regulation under the Fifth Amendment taking jurisprudence and Louisiana constitutional law.