JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Republicans are again pressing to ban the ownership of farmland by foreign companies, setting up a debate likely to reverberate in the 2024 race for governor and U.S. president.
Rep. Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, predicted this week that a framework for state-level legislation could emerge next month with a goal of quick action when the General Assembly returns to action in January.
But, unlike a proposal that was approved by the Senate in the spring, the revamped version could potentially be devoid of a list of foreign countries that would be banned from buying Missouri cropland.
A new law in Florida signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, has drawn criticism because it includes restrictions on land purchases by some citizens of China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela.
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The U.S. Justice Department says the list violates the federal Fair Housing Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
Sen. Justin Brown, R-Rolla, told members of a joint House-Senate committee on agriculture Thursday that including a list of countries in Missouri’s proposed law could be problematic.
“I cannot imagine that holding up in court,†Brown said, adding that the concept sounded “racist.â€
Haffner, too, said the Florida provisions may not hold up under legal scrutiny.
“I think they are going to have issues,†Haffner said.
The push to limit foreign ownership of farmland in Missouri has been under consideration for the past five years as China has increasingly become viewed as an aggressor more than a trade ally.
Both parties have seized on the issue.
Before a Chinese company acquired meat processor Smithfield Foods, Missouri banned all foreign ownership of agricultural land. That rule was changed a decade ago to allow foreign entities to own up to 1% of the state’s farmland.
Sen. Doug Beck, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, pushed legislation last spring that would prevent any additional purchases over the 1% rule, mirroring bills he has backed dating to 2020.
Republicans have seized on the issue, campaigning on a platform that there are clandestine foreign threats from Communists designed to undermine democracy by purchasing rural land in America.
The initiative gained renewed momentum in January following the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon floating over the U.S. before it was shot down in February by a military strike off the coast of South Carolina days later.
In April, the state Senate approved a bipartisan measure barring a foreign entity from acquiring agricultural land in the state after Aug. 28, 2023.
Under the proposal, all foreign entities would be required to report future sales, acquisitions or land transfers to the Missouri attorney general’s and secretary of state’s offices.
But, the measure did not make it across the finish line before lawmakers adjourned in May.
The issue’s failure to gain traction in 2023 assures it will remain a talking point in the 2024 Republican primary race for governor, where the candidates claim the Chinese government is seeking to snap up agricultural land and property near strategically important infrastructure and military property.
One candidate, Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, called on Gov. Mike Parson to schedule a special session to deal with the issue, but was rebuffed. Parson supports Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe in the race.
Another candidate, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, issued a statement in April arguing that regulating foreign land ownership is “necessary to better protect Missourians.â€
“Make no mistake: China is our number one global economic competitor and our biggest national security threat — and yes, that means military threat,†Ashcroft wrote.
Kehoe supports a prohibition on land purchases by China and other foreign adversaries in order to protect national security.
But, some of the influential groups that could back the candidates oppose limits, including the Missouri Association of Realtors and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which has endorsed Kehoe.
Haffner said some alternatives to having a list of banned countries could include giving Missouri’s agriculture director and the attorney general increased oversight and surveillance abilities when it comes to foreign entities purchasing land.
He also said a congressional version of the law doesn’t include a comprehensive ban on land purchases near infrastructure, which he believes is critical.
Haffner said a state version of the proposal should clearly identify sites near which foreign entities should not own property, such as Whiteman Air Force Base.
The Florida version, meanwhile, is being challenged in court by a group of Chinese citizens living and working in Florida, who say the law unfairly equates Chinese people with the actions of their government and there is no evidence of national security risk from Chinese citizens buying Florida property.
DeSantis said the law aims to “counteract†what he called “the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the state of Florida.â€