The Grind:
A law that will prohibit sanctioned foreign entities and nonresident aliens from property ownership in Tennessee is headed to Gov. Bill Lee for signature, after mostly bipartisan passage in the state legislature.
The bill originally did not include the sanctioned language, but was added through amendments. The first version of the bill stated a foreign business, government, nonresident alien, and agents of such groups could not purchase land in Tennessee if their own country prohibited the U.S. citizens from purchasing real property in that country.
The Details:
Concerns by Democrats in the legislature were brought up that included possible unintended consequences it could have on the large Kurdish community in the Nashville area, which is home to the largest Kurdish community in North America.
The sanctioned countries that will fall under the amended law are those on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s sanctions programs and country information list, per the legislation.
The list details sanctions that are either comprehensive or selective, with entire countries on the list or certain entities related to a country. Comprehensive sanction examples on the list as of April 27 include Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, and Somalia while more specific examples include Chinese military companies, counter-terrorism, and Russian harmful foreign activities sanctions. Read more…