{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mikekennedy.house.gov/media/press-releases/kennedy-curtis-lee-introduce-bill-block-wall-street-control-utahs-public-lands", "KENNEDY, CURTIS, LEE, INTRODUCE BILL TO BLOCK WALL STREET CONTROL OF UTAH\u2019S PUBLIC LANDS", "2025-03-12", "2025", "2025-03", "Republican", "House", "UT", "Mike Kennedy", "K000403", "mikekennedy.house.gov", "mikekennedy", "https://mikekennedy.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Yesterday, Representative Mike Kennedy (R-UT-03), along with Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Mike Lee (R-UT), introduced the Natural Asset Company Prohibition Act, legislation aiming to protect Utah\u2019s public lands from takeover by Wall Street activists and foreign investors. The bill would prohibit Natural Asset Companies (NACs) and similar entities from entering into agreements that affect land, water, or natural resources within Utah\u2019s borders.\n\n\u201cNatural Asset Companies (NACs) threaten Utah\u2019s rural economy by allowing private interests to lock away farmland and natural resources. This model would undermine property rights, allowing conservation easements to be imposed without landowner consent,\u201d said Representative Kennedy. \u201cThis legislation will help to protect Utah\u2019s land, economy, and rural communities from such overreach.\u201d\n\n\u201cWall Street shouldn\u2019t be allowed to dictate what happens on Utah lands just to satisfy ESG mandates,\u201d said Senator Curtis. \u201cPublic lands are central to Utah\u2019s way of life \u2014 supporting families, ranchers, recreation, energy production, and conservation. This bill ensures that investors from New York or foreign capitals don\u2019t get to lock up Utah lands and cut off access to the people who depend on them.\u201d\n\n\u201cAccess to public lands is essential to Utah\u2019s way of life, supporting thriving energy, agriculture, and recreation industries. Natural Asset Companies pose a direct threat to this access by enabling private and foreign investors to seize control of the very land that our communities depend on. This legislation is crucial to protect Utahns' rights to their lands, ensuring that our local communities, not foreign interests, retain control and continue to thrive for generations to come,\u201d said Senator Lee, Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.\n\nBackground:\n\nNACs, which are structured as corporate entities, assign financial value to ecosystem services like carbon sequestration, water purification, biodiversity preservation, and soil health. By monetizing natural assets, NACs could lead to corporate control over public lands, restricting farming, grazing, energy development, and recreation. In Utah, where the federal government already owns around 70% of the land, NACs could worsen land-use restrictions by locking out local communities from responsible use and economic opportunities.\n\nIn October 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a rule to authorize NACs to own rights to \u201cecological performance\u201d and lease mineral, water, or air rights from tribal nations and private landowners. Following fierce opposition\u2014including from Senator Curtis and Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks\u2014the SEC withdrew the rule in January 2024.\n\nSpecifically, the Natural Asset Company Prohibition Act:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T00:15:27Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mikekennedy.house.gov/media/press-releases/kennedy-curtis-lee-introduce-bill-block-wall-street-control-utahs-public-lands"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7188189774751663, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}