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Committee pauses bill tightening foreign ownership rules after dual-citizenship concerns
Summary
Lawmakers heard hours of testimony on House Bill 16 80, which would expand prohibitions on certain foreign-controlled entities owning or leasing Arkansas agricultural land near critical infrastructure; the sponsor pulled the bill for amendment after testimony that dual U.S. citizens could be caught by the law.
State Representative Dan Vaught, the bill sponsor, told the House Committee on Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development that House Bill 16 80 would expand Arkansas restrictions on foreign interests owning agricultural land and shorten divestiture windows.
Vaught said the bill would ban “CCP-linked companies” from holding any interest in agricultural land within a 10-mile radius of defined critical infrastructure and would prohibit certain foreign-party-controlled businesses from leasing state land. He said the measure also would shorten the current divest period from two years to one year and expand the definition of agricultural land to include municipal…
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