Representative Mike Schultz Pucci presented House Bill 430 as a two-part follow-up to earlier state law targeting restricted foreign entities buying Utah land. The bill would require additional disclosures to county recorders to help the Department of Public Safety identify purchases that may be pass-throughs for restricted foreign entities and would bar third-party food delivery drivers from driving onto military bases, allowing only designated drop zones outside gates.

The bill sponsor said the measure builds on earlier legislation Utah passed that prohibits restricted foreign entities from purchasing land. "This is a follow-up to a lot of the great work that this committee has done ... in how we address who is owning our land in our state," Representative Pucci said, adding that federal and state security officials have identified purchases near military installations as a national security concern.

Brian Garrett, representing the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs and the Utah National Guard, told the committee installations are probed daily by actors feigning food pickups or deliveries. Garrett said installations have sought voluntary geofencing from major delivery services but have been unsuccessful and described the proposed rule as “preventative in nature.” He said probes tied up security personnel and could create traffic and safety problems at gates.

Committee members asked whether base commanders already could address the problem through existing policy. Garrett responded that authority and federal policy vary by installation and that national-level efforts to compel delivery companies to geofence have not succeeded, so the state measure is aimed at providing a practical tool to deter probing activity. Representatives also asked whether human rideshare drivers (Uber/Lyft) would be affected; Garrett said the bill’s text targets food delivery services because those drivers often do not include a second passenger holding a DoD ID.

Lawmakers questioned the need for statutory penalties and about the scope of restricted foreign entity definitions. Representative Pucci said the original statute already covers pass-through and shell companies where over 50% ownership is attributable to a restricted foreign entity, and the new disclosures are intended to help investigators determine whether purchases are personal or nefarious.

The committee adopted the first substitute to HB 430 by voice vote and then voted unanimously to pass SUBSTITUTE 1 with a favorable recommendation.

No public testimony was recorded on the bill in committee.

The bill now moves to the next stage of the legislative process with a favorable committee recommendation.