7 U.S.C. § 3502 — Civil penalty

Page 1663 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 3505 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘principal’’. contained in any report submitted under sub- section (e) of the section, the Secretary may re- quire such person to submit to the Secretary a report containing— (A) the legal name and the address of any person who holds any interest in the person submitting the report under this subsection; (B) in any case in which the holder of such interest is an individual, the citizenship of such holder; and (C) in any case in which the holder of such interest is not an individual or a government, the nature of the legal entity holding the in- terest, the country in which such holder is cre- ated or organized, and the principle 1 place of business of such holder. (Pub. L. 95–460, § 2, Oct. 14, 1978, 92 Stat. 1263.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT For the effective date of this section, referred to in subsecs. (b) to (d), see section 10(b) of Pub. L. 95–460, set out as an Effective Date note below. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 95–460, § 10, Oct. 14, 1978, 92 Stat. 1267, provided that: ‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this sec- tion, this Act [enacting this chapter] shall become ef- fective on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 14, 1978]. ‘‘(b) Section 2 [section 3501 of this title] shall become effective on the date on which regulations prescribed by the Secretary under section 8 [section 3507 of this title] become effective.’’ SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 95–460, § 1, Oct. 14, 1978, 92 Stat. 1263, provided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978’.’’ REPORT TO CONGRESS ON FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURAL LAND IN THE UNITED STATES Pub. L. 118–42, div. B, title VII, § 742, Mar. 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 111, provided that: ‘‘The Secretary, as part of the report on foreign landholding required under the Agri- cultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (Public Law 95–460), shall report to Congress on foreign invest- ments in agricultural land in the United States, includ- ing the impact foreign ownership has on family farms, rural communities, and the domestic food supply: Pro- vided, That within 2 years after the enactment of this Act [Mar. 9, 2024], the Secretary shall establish a streamlined process for electronic submission and re- tention of disclosures made under the Agricultural For- eign Investment Disclosure Act [of 1978, 7 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.], including an internet database that contains disaggregated data from each disclosure submitted: Provided further, That all prior year disclosures of for- eign investments in agricultural land in the United States are published in the database: Provided further, That the plan includes a process to ensure the protec- tion of personally identifiable information and that all disclosures of foreign investments in agricultural land on the USDA website be disaggregated by: (1) in any case in which such foreign person is an individual, the citizenship of such foreign person; and (2) in any case in which such foreign person is not an individual or a government, the nature of the legal entity holding the interest, the country in which such foreign person is created or organized, and the principal place of busi- ness of such foreign person.’’ Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriation act: Pub. L. 117–328, div. A, title VII, § 773, Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 4509. § 3502. Civil penalty (a) If the Secretary determines that a person— (1) has failed to submit a report in accord- ance with the provisions of section 3501 of this title, or (2) has knowingly submitted a report under section 3501 of this title— (A) which does not contain all the infor- mation required to be in such report, or (B) which contains information that is misleading or false, such person shall be subject to a civil penalty imposed by the Secretary. The amount of any such civil penalty shall be determined in ac- cordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. Any such civil penalty shall be recoverable in a civil action brought by the Attorney General of the United States in an appropriate district court of the United States. (b) The amount of any civil penalty imposed by the Secretary under subsection (a) of this section shall be such amount as the Secretary determines to be appropriate to carry out the purposes of this chapter, except that such amount shall not exceed 25 percent of the fair market value, on the date of the assessment of such penalty, of the interest in agricultural land with respect to which such violation occurred. (Pub. L. 95–460, § 3, Oct. 14, 1978, 92 Stat. 1265.) § 3503. Investigative actions The Secretary may take such actions as the Secretary considers necessary to monitor com- pliance with the provisions of this chapter and to determine whether the information contained in any report submitted under section 3501 of this title accurately and fully reveals the owner- ship interest of all foreign persons in any for- eign person who is required to submit a report under such section. (Pub. L. 95–460, § 4, Oct. 14, 1978, 92 Stat. 1265.) § 3504. Repealed. Pub. L. 105–362, title I, § 101(f), Nov. 10, 1998, 112 Stat. 3281 Section, Pub. L. 95–460, § 5, Oct. 14, 1978, 92 Stat. 1265; Pub. L. 104–66, title I, § 1012(g), Dec. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 712, provided for reports to Congress and the President. § 3505. Reports to the States Not later than 30 days after the end of each 6- month period beginning after the effective date of section 3501 of this title, the Secretary shall transmit to each State department of agri- culture, or such other appropriate State agency as the Secretary considers advisable, a copy of each report which was submitted to the Sec- retary under section 3501 of this title during such 6-month period and which involved agricul- tural land located in such State. (Pub. L. 95–460, § 6, Oct. 14, 1978, 92 Stat. 1266.)