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Tightened foreign‑adversary restriction on agricultural land advances after heated debate
Summary
SB 464, which narrows definitions to bar 'foreign adversary' control of agricultural land near sensitive installations, passed the committee 10‑9 after witnesses raised concerns about impacts on publicly traded companies and potential racialized effects on Asian‑American communities.
Senator Stewart introduced SB 464 to tighten prohibitions on foreign‑adversary interests in agricultural land to protect lands around military installations and national security sites. The sponsor said the bill uses a Secretary of Commerce maintained list to identify hostile foreign governments and is narrowly tailored to ag land around sensitive facilities.
The bill prompted extended questioning and public testimony. Jeff Palmore, representing Smithfield Foods, said striking language from the current code could expose publicly traded companies to risk from minority shareholders and create uncertainty for major Virginia employers. Delegate Tran and others warned that 'alien land' laws have historically been used against Asian communities; Delegate Tran cited USDA data showing very small holdings by some targeted countries and said the measure risked perpetuating discrimination.
Senator Stewart responded that the bill targets countries identified by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce as hostile and was designed to avoid broad exclusion of foreign investment; he said the policy aims to prevent controlling influence by hostile governments while protecting jobs and economic development where possible.
After debate and multiple questions about definitions (including a new "substantially funded" category in the draft), the committee voted narrowly to report SB 464 by a recorded vote of 10‑9. Opponents urged caution and solicited further work to protect jobs and avoid unintended discriminatory impacts; proponents said the bill would preserve agricultural land security near defense sites.
