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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 13, 2025
Protect America’s Lands Act
This bill prohibits national securities exchanges from allowing the trade of securities issued by natural asset companies. Natural asset companies are companies that oversee land for conservation, restoration, or for the sustainable management of the natural resources and ecosystem services on that land.
People & committees
Rep. Green, Mark E. [R-TN-7] · R–TN
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Oct 7, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-13 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Protect America’s Lands Act would bar registered national securities exchanges from trading investment instruments issued by certain companies that hold rights to land’s ecological value and manage it for conservation, restoration, or sustainable use. Coverage would depend on the company’s rights, management authority, and primary purpose for that land. Companies connected through ownership or other control relationships would also be covered.
This Act may be cited as the Protect America’s Lands Act.
It shall be unlawful for a national securities exchange registered under subsection (b) to effect a transaction in a security issued by a natural asset company.
(A) means a company— (i) that holds the rights to the ecological performance (including value from natural assets and the production of ecosystem services) of a defined land area and has the authority to manage such area for conservation, restoration, or sustainable management; and (ii) the primary purpose of which, with respect to such defined land area, is to— (I) manage, maintain, restore, and grow the value of natural assets and the production of ecosystem services in the area; or (II) carry out activities that do not cause any material adverse impact on the condition of the natural assets in the area and replenish the natural resources used in the area;
(B) includes any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another company described in subparagraph (A).
Section 2 would add a prohibition to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It would make it unlawful for a national securities exchange registered under that law’s subsection (b) to carry out a transaction in a security issued by a natural asset company.
Section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78f) is amended by adding at the end the following:
It shall be unlawful for a national securities exchange registered under subsection (b) to effect a transaction in a security issued by a natural asset company.
For a company to qualify directly under the definition, it would need both rights to the ecological performance of a defined land area and authority to manage that area for conservation, restoration, or sustainable management. Ecological performance includes the value of natural assets and ecosystem services—the benefits provided by natural systems. The company would also need to meet the primary-purpose requirement.
(A) means a company— (i) that holds the rights to the ecological performance (including value from natural assets and the production of ecosystem services) of a defined land area and has the authority to manage such area for conservation, restoration, or sustainable management; and (ii) the primary purpose of which, with respect to such defined land area, is to—
The primary-purpose requirement would have two alternatives concerning that land: managing, maintaining, restoring, and growing its natural-asset value and ecosystem services; or conducting activities that both avoid a material adverse impact on its natural assets and replenish the natural resources used there.
(ii) the primary purpose of which, with respect to such defined land area, is to— (I) manage, maintain, restore, and grow the value of natural assets and the production of ecosystem services in the area; or (II) carry out activities that do not cause any material adverse impact on the condition of the natural assets in the area and replenish the natural resources used in the area;
The definition would also cover a company that controls a qualifying company, is controlled by it, or shares common control with it. Those related companies would be included without separately having to satisfy the land-rights and primary-purpose requirements.
(B) includes any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another company described in subparagraph (A).
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated October 7, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Financial Services on February 13, 2025. This snapshot does not establish subsequent advancement or enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-07T18:21:37Z. 2025-02-13: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. 2025-02-13: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-13. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential benefit, carve-out, or special exemption was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 7, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI