Georgia CommonsHB358: HB358 Agriculture; prohibiting acquisition of possessory interest in certain land by certain foreign persons and entities; provide for a definition
Last action May 14, 2025 · Effective Date 2025-07-01
House Bill 358 adds a legal definition of "military installation" to Georgia's law restricting certain foreign persons and entities from acquiring land, likely land near military bases.
In plain language
Georgia already has a law, O.C.G.A. § 2-1-7, that stops certain foreign persons and entities from acquiring a possessory interest (the legal right to hold or use property) in certain land in the state. That existing law refers to land near military installations, but it did not spell out what counts as a "military installation." House Bill 358 adds that missing definition. It says a military installation means a facility owned and operated by the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Space Force, or Coast Guard that shelters military equipment and personnel and supports training and operations. The bill does not change who is restricted or what land is covered; it only clarifies this one term used in the existing restriction. It also repeals any conflicting laws.
What the bill does
- Adds a new definition of "military installation" to Georgia's foreign land acquisition law (O.C.G.A. § 2-1-7).
- Defines a military installation as a facility owned and operated by the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Space Force, or Coast Guard.
- Specifies the facility must shelter military equipment and personnel and support training and operations to qualify.
- Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this new definition.
Who it affects
The change most directly affects how Georgia courts and state officials interpret the existing restriction on foreign persons and entities acquiring land near military installations, since it clarifies a key term in that law rather than creating new restrictions on any group.
Why it matters
Because the underlying law restricts certain foreign persons and entities from acquiring land tied to military installations, a clear definition of that term reduces ambiguity about which facilities trigger the restriction, affecting how the existing prohibition is applied and enforced.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 2-1-7 by adding paragraph (2.1) to subsection (a), defining "military installation."
- The definition covers facilities owned and operated by the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Space Force, or Coast Guard.
- The facility must shelter military equipment and personnel and facilitate training and operations to meet the definition.
- Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the Act.
Status timeline
- Effective Date 2025-07-01
- Act 261
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
Show full history (17 actions)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Vance Smith (R, HD-138)
- David Huddleston (R, HD-072)
- Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)
- David Jenkins (R, HD-136)
- Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
Votes
- House voteMarch 3, 2025
120 yea, 50 nay (7 not voting, 3 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 31, 2025
35 yea, 20 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)
Topics
- foreign land ownership
- military installations
- property law
- national security