§43. Protection of military bases; prohibited ownership of immovable property by foreign
adversaries and agents of foreign adversaries
A. The legislature hereby declares it is the policy of this state that ownership of
immovable property in proximity to military bases by foreign adversaries or agents of foreign
adversaries presents a threat to public health and safety that warrants reasonable statutory
restrictions and the reasonable exercise of the constitutional police powers of the state.
B. Any immovable property that is purchased, leased, possessed, owned, held in
interest, or in any manner under the control of a foreign adversary or an agent or mandatary
of a foreign adversary that is located within fifty miles of a military base may be expropriated
by the Military Department, state of Louisiana, regardless of the date that the immovable
property was acquired.
C. If the Military Department, state of Louisiana, files a petition to expropriate
against immovable property pursuant to Subsection B of this Section, the expropriation shall
be filed and conducted in the same manner and by the same method provided for in Part I of
Title 19 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, except that the petition shall also contain
all of the following:
(1) A statement demonstrating compliance with the requirements of this Section.
(2) A statement detailing the description and nature of the threat to public health and
safety that will be removed by the expropriation.
D. Property acquisitions conducted pursuant to this Section shall be subject to the
provisions of R.S. 38:3101 et seq.
E.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Section to the contrary, any foreign
adversary or any agent or mandatary of a foreign adversary, as defined in this Section, that
owns or holds any immovable property subject to the provisions of Subsection B of this
Section may, prior to the final judgment of expropriation, voluntarily divest itself of such
property by bona fide sale, transfer, or conveyance to a natural person or juridical person that
is not a foreign adversary and is not an agent or mandatary of a foreign adversary.
(2) Upon completion of a valid transfer of the immovable property in accordance with
this Paragraph, the Military Department, state of Louisiana shall notify the court that the
property shall no longer be subject to expropriation under this Section and the court shall
dismiss the suit, provided that the transferee is not acting, directly or indirectly, on behalf of
or under the direction or control of a foreign adversary.
F. Notwithstanding any provision of this Section to the contrary, no immovable or
movable property shall be taken, damaged, or expropriated by the state or any of its political
subdivisions pursuant to this Section except in accordance with Article I, Section 4 of the
Constitution of Louisiana, which requires that property shall not be taken or damaged except
for public purposes and with just compensation paid to the owner. Therefore, any
expropriation authorized herein shall be conditioned upon the payment of just compensation
to the full extent of the owner’s loss and no transfer of ownership shall be effective until such
compensation has been paid.
G. Unless otherwise indicated, the following definitions shall apply to this Section:
(1) "Agent of a foreign adversary" or "mandatary of a foreign adversary" means a
juridical person or a natural person that serves as a mandatary, as provided in Civil Code
Article 2989, for a principal that is a foreign adversary and meets one or more of the
following criteria:
(a) Is under direction of a foreign adversary that has the power to direct or cause the
direction of the management or policies of the juridical person whether through ownership
of securities, by contract, or otherwise.
(b) Directly or indirectly has the right to vote fifty percent or more of the voting
interests of an entity that is owned or controlled by a foreign adversary or is entitled to fifty
percent or more of its profits and is, therefore, presumed to have the power to direct or cause
the direction of the management or policies of the juridical person.
(c) Is a juridical person that meets any of the following:
(i) Is headquartered in a country identified as a foreign adversary.
(ii) Is held or controlled, either directly or indirectly, by a government of a foreign
adversary.
(iii) Is owned by, or the majority of stock or other ownership interest is held or
controlled by, any person who is a citizen of a foreign adversary, unless that person is a legal
permanent resident of the United States.
(d) Is a juridical person or a subsidiary that is owned by, or the majority of stock or
other ownership interest of which is held or controlled by, a corporation or entity described
in Subparagraph (c) of this Paragraph.
(e) Any individual person who is a citizen of a foreign adversary, unless that person
is a legal permanent resident of the United States and does not otherwise meet any of the
criteria provided in Subparagraphs (a) through (d) of this Paragraph.
(2) "Foreign adversary" means any foreign government or foreign nongovernmental
person determined by the United States secretary of commerce to have engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of
the United States or security and safety of United States persons as listed in 15 CFR 791.4
(Determination of Foreign Adversaries), as amended or renumbered, and identified in the
database maintained by the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign
Assets Control.
(3) "Military base" means any of the following immovable properties:
(a) A military base or facility, reservation, camp, post, base, installation, armory, or
training area and any weather station operated by the armed forces of the United States.
(b) A military base, facility, reservation, camp, post, installation, armory, or training
area that is operated by the state military.
(c) Any facility operated by the Civil Air Patrol.
Acts 2026, No. 474, §1, eff. May 29, 2026.