"Overall, the newly revised Land Management Law has absorbed all the successful experiences of the three-plot rural land reform into the Land Management Law, and has made a number of innovative provisions in rural land management."

On August 26, at a press conference held in the General Office of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Wei Lihua, Director of the Regulations Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources, said so.

It is understood that on the morning of August 26, the 12th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress concluded at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The meeting voted to adopt the decision on amending the Land Management Law and the Urban Real Estate Management Law with 163 votes in favor, 1 against, and 3 abstentions.

Previously, the Land Management Law has undergone two rounds of review. On December 23, 2018, the Land Management Law was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for its first deliberation, and the current Land Management Law was deleted, which stipulates that those who use land for non-agricultural construction must use state-owned land or the original collective land expropriated as state-owned; for collective construction land that is determined to be industrial, commercial and other commercial purposes in the overall land use plan and has been registered in accordance with the law, the land owner is allowed to transfer it to units or individuals through transfer, lease, etc.

In the second review on June 25, 2019, the main modifications included four aspects: land expropriation, the entry of collective commercial construction land into the market, the homestead system and other modifications. Compared with the first-review draft, the revisions to the second-review draft focused on further improving the land acquisition situation and compensation standards. However, in terms of the entry of collective commercial construction land into the market and the reform of the homestead system, which the market is more concerned about, the highly requested changes to "absorb the experience of "separation of three rights" in homestead land" did not appear.

The third review of the amendment was finally passed. A reporter from the 21st Century Business Herald noted that the amendment further tightened the conditions and procedures for land acquisition for public interests, further improved the land acquisition procedure, and increased the organization of hearings on the compensation plan. At the same time, rural industries and homestead land should be rationally planned. In order to promote the development of rural industries and improve rural living conditions, rural industry and homestead land should be rationally planned, and idle homesteads should be fully utilized. Rural collective economic organizations and their members are encouraged to make full use of idle homesteads and idle residences.

Narrowing the scope of land expropriation

What are the main contents involved in this modification? In terms of land expropriation, Wei Lihua introduced that the revision of the Land Management Law has been improved in three aspects. First, the public interest in land expropriation is clearly defined for the first time, because the original Constitution and the Land Management Law stipulate that the state can expropriate land for the public interest, but what is the public interest? There have been no clear legal provisions for a long time. In particular, the Land Management Law stipulates that any unit or individual using land must use state-owned land, which has led to expropriation becoming the only way to obtain land. This time, on the basis of summarizing the experience of the pilot, an enumeration method was adopted. Six situations such as military diplomacy, infrastructure construction organized by the government, public welfare undertakings, poverty alleviation and relocation and affordable housing projects, and land development and construction can be expropriated in accordance with the law.

Second, the Land Management Law clarifies for the first time the basic principles of land expropriation compensation, which is to ensure that the original living standards of land-expropriated farmers are not reduced and that their long-term livelihoods are guaranteed. Such a provisionIt is necessary to change the past practice of determining land compensation based on the original use of land expropriation and determine land compensation and resettlement subsidies based on the annual output value multiple method. The original land annual output value multiple method should be replaced by the comprehensive land price of the area. In addition, in addition to the original land compensation, resettlement compensation, and ground attachments, rural villagers' residential compensation and social security fees have been added, thus establishing a more complete legal security system for landless farmers.

Third, the land expropriation procedures have been improved. The original post-approval announcement has been changed to a pre-approval announcement, mainly to give farmers whose land has been expropriated more rights to participate, supervise and speak in the entire process.

What is the impact on the land market?

In terms of the entry of collective commercial construction land into the market, Wei Lihua said that the newly revised Land Management Law has removed the legal obstacles for rural collective construction land to enter the market. The new law deletes Article 43 of the original Land Management Law, which stipulates that any unit or individual who needs to use land must use state-owned land. Added provisions stipulate that rural collective construction land, if it complies with planning, is registered in accordance with the law, and has the consent of more than two-thirds of the members of the collective economic organization, can be transferred, leased, etc. to units or individuals other than rural collective economic organizations for direct use. At the same time, after users obtain rural collective construction land, they can also transfer it again through transfer, exchange, or mortgage.

“This is a major institutional innovation in the Land Management Law. It eliminates the dual system in which collective construction land cannot directly enter the market for many years, and removes institutional obstacles to the integrated development of urban and rural areas. The entry of collective commercial construction land into the market is the biggest highlight of this revision of the Land Management Law.” Wei Lihua said.

How much impact will the entry of collective commercial construction land into the market have on the land market?

Yang Heqing, deputy director of the Economic Law Office of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said that when collective commercial construction land enters the market, the land entering the market must first comply with the planning, and the planning must be for industrial or commercial purposes. Second, entry into the market must be registered in accordance with the law. Third, it must make arrangements in the annual land use plan. In addition, even after obtaining the right to use collective commercial construction land, the land rights holder must use the land according to the original planned use. Therefore, from these aspects, it will not have an impact on our land market.

In terms of homestead land, this revision adds the requirement that each household has a residence on the basis of the original one-household-one-household requirement. At the same time, rural collective economic organizations and their members are encouraged to make full use of idle homestead land and idle residences.

However, a reporter from the 21st Century Business Herald noted that the principled provisions for the reform of the homestead system may also leave room for imagination for the next revision of the Land Management Law.

Some members pointed out during the third review process that the regulations that encourage rural collective economic organizations and their members to revitalize idle homesteads and idle residences are policy statements that are too principled, too flexible, and are not in line with the characteristics and requirements of the "Management Law." The "Management Law" must have management measures and management means. Such general provisions are more difficult to achieve the purpose of amending the law in practice.

The committee member suggested that in accordance with the requirements of the problem orientation, try to upgrade this policy statement to a legal statement, try to change the advocacy regulations into deterministic regulations, and try to change the flexible regulations into rigid regulations, so as to further reflect the characteristics of "management law" and increase the operability, mandatory and authoritative nature of the law. Of course, this alone cannot be revised by the Constitution and the Legal Committee, because this is not a matter of written expression, but of substantive management measures, management tools, and management.Regarding the issue of methods, it is recommended that the competent authorities further study relevant measures and try to make them more specific to reflect the authority of the law. If there is no time to study this time, we agree to implement it first, further sum up experience in practice, and improve it in the next revision.

(Editor: Wang Feng)