N.C. lawmakers revisit land limits near bases

May 13, 2026

Summary

North Carolina Republicans proposed renewed limits on foreign land purchases near military sites and on farmland statewide.

Why this matters

The proposal could affect land ownership, business activity, and state enforcement authority in North Carolina. It also reflects a broader debate over national security and foreign access to property near U.S. military sites.

North Carolina Republican lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a revised proposal to bar governments deemed adversarial to the United States, along with state-controlled enterprises, from buying, leasing, or holding controlling interests in agricultural land statewide or property within 50 miles of military installations.

Sponsors said the measure was a compromise between earlier House and Senate proposals that did not win full General Assembly approval. The bill updates the “North Carolina Farmland and Military Protection Act.”

The legislation uses a federal list tied to International Traffic in Arms Regulations to define adversarial foreign governments, including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela. It applies to installations including Fort Bragg, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and other military and National Guard facilities.

A previous version passed the House unanimously last year but did not receive a Senate vote.

Sen. Bob Brinson, R-Craven, told a Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that he worked with bill sponsors to address concerns.

Brinson said lawmakers reduced the restricted zone around military bases from 75 miles to 50 miles after some objected to the earlier distance. He said the bill also expanded protections by adding National Guard facilities.

The proposal would authorize the attorney general to investigate suspected violations and ask a court to order divestiture of prohibited land holdings.

Senate Democrats said they appreciated the revisions but remained concerned about possible economic effects. Sen. Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake, asked sponsors to add protections for immigrants who moved to the United States years ago and started a business. She also said she would prefer a limit of 10 miles or less.

Republicans said national security concerns outweighed possible economic effects.

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The South Carolina Senate on Tuesday rejected an effort to redraw the state’s congressional districts weeks before the primaries, despite pressure from President Donald Trump and support from House Republicans.

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Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, an Edgefield Republican, said changing the map now would delay congressional primaries, discard absentee ballots already cast, including some from military voters overseas, and create confusion that could reduce turnout. He also said South Carolina lawmakers should not follow a map drafted outside the state.

Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, an Orangeburg Democrat, also opposed using “a map someone else gave us,” saying it would be unfair to voters and candidates.

Trump had called Republican senators, joined a GOP caucus meeting by phone, and urged action on social media.

The push followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down Louisiana’s congressional map as unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. Massey said that ruling did not apply to South Carolina’s map, which he said had been upheld by the U.S. and state supreme courts. “We don’t have a racial gerrymander. We have a partisan gerrymander. We were trying to maximize Republican seats,” he said.

In the House, the Judiciary Committee voted 15-9 along party lines Tuesday to advance legislation that would adopt a new map and delay congressional primaries to Aug. 18. The map, first circulated by House Republicans last week, was written by Adam Kincaid of the National Republican Redistricting Trust. According to the trust, it would favor Republicans in all seven districts, including the 6th District held by U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn.

Election officials said the timeline would be difficult. Early voting begins in 14 days, 8,250 absentee ballots have been mailed, and 354 had already been returned, according to the state Election Commission. Elections Director Conway Belangia said any disruption could require staff to “work probably 24 hours a day.”

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SC GOP to sue over open primaries, seek restrictions

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South Carolina’s Republican Party said Tuesday it plans to file a federal lawsuit next month challenging the state’s open primary system and seeking the ability to limit who can vote in Republican primaries.

Party Chairman Drew McKissick said the lawsuit would argue South Carolina’s system violates the party’s First Amendment right to decide who it associates with. He said the goal is to prevent voters who are not registered Republicans from voting in GOP primaries.

“This is the only alternative that we have left,” McKissick said after two bills to close primaries stalled early in the legislative session.

The proposals split House Republicans, faced long odds in the Senate, and would have been vetoed by the governor if they had passed.

At a Statehouse news conference, McKissick said the party has not decided whether to limit participation only to registered Republicans. The state party has backed legislation that would allow unaffiliated voters to participate, while automatically registering voters with a party after they cast a ballot in that party’s primary.

Attorney General Alan Wilson and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, both Republican candidates for governor, joined McKissick in support of closing primaries. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, and Sen. Josh Kimbrell have also publicly supported the idea.

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South Carolina Republicans have challenged the system before. A federal judge dismissed a 2010 lawsuit brought by the Greenville County Republican Party in 2013, ruling the county party could not bring the case without deciding the underlying constitutional question.

McKissick pointed to court rulings recognizing parties’ First Amendment associational rights. He said a similar lawsuit in Texas is ongoing.
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Virginia sets paid family, medical leave by 2028

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Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed two bills Monday that put Virginia on track to create a paid family and medical leave program by 2028.

Senate Bill 2 by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, and House Bill 1207 by Del. Briana Sewell, D-Prince William, allow workers to take up to 12 weeks of leave to care for ill family members, address their own long-term health needs, or care for a new child.

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At a bill-signing event at the state Capitol, Boysko said the law would have helped when she experienced a pregnancy complication as a young mother. While she recovered and her daughter was in a neonatal intensive care unit 20 miles away, she said her husband could not take leave from work.

Spanberger said the new law could help small businesses attract and retain workers, while supporting larger employers that already offer similar benefits.

Virginia’s law applies to workers at companies with 10 or more employees. It allows them to receive up to 80% of their pay while on leave through a program that will require initial state funding and later be financed by contributions from most employers and employees.

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Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a similar proposal last year, calling it a “one size fits all government mandate.”

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North Carolina

N.C. lawmakers revisit land limits near bases

Property acquired in violation of the law could be placed in receivership and sold, with the proceeds covering costs and any remaining funds going to the state.

Full story +

North Carolina Republican lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a revised proposal to bar governments deemed adversarial to the United States, along with state-controlled enterprises, from buying, leasing, or holding controlling interests in agricultural land statewide or property within 50 miles of military installations.

Sponsors said the measure was a compromise between earlier House and Senate proposals that did not win full General Assembly approval. The bill updates the “North Carolina Farmland and Military Protection Act.”

The legislation uses a federal list tied to International Traffic in Arms Regulations to define adversarial foreign governments, including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela. It applies to installations including Fort Bragg, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and other military and National Guard facilities.

A previous version passed the House unanimously last year but did not receive a Senate vote.

Sen. Bob Brinson, R-Craven, told a Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that he worked with bill sponsors to address concerns.

Brinson said lawmakers reduced the restricted zone around military bases from 75 miles to 50 miles after some objected to the earlier distance. He said the bill also expanded protections by adding National Guard facilities.

The proposal would authorize the attorney general to investigate suspected violations and ask a court to order divestiture of prohibited land holdings.

Senate Democrats said they appreciated the revisions but remained concerned about possible economic effects. Sen. Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake, asked sponsors to add protections for immigrants who moved to the United States years ago and started a business. She also said she would prefer a limit of 10 miles or less.

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The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search at 6 p.m. Monday for a 75-year-old North Carolina man who went missing while snorkeling off Kaanapali Beach on Maui.

Crews searched 1,275 square miles for more than 77 combined hours for John Weems, the Coast Guard said.

“Following extensive search efforts carried out alongside our partner agencies, we have made the difficult decision to suspend the search for Mr. Weems,” Lt. Tyler Peterson, Sector Honolulu’s search and rescue mission coordinator, said in a news release. “We extend our deepest condolences to his family and all who are grieving, both near and far.”

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