JACKSON — Lincoln County representative Becky Curry introduced a bill Monday in the Mississippi House of Representatives to prohibit foreign adversaries from buying agricultural land. Her bill would keep certain foreign governments and aliens of adversarial countries from buying and owning agricultural land in the state. 

Currie said last week the bill was a piece of legislation she was proud of. House Bill 348 will be referred to as the Mississippi agricultural land protection and foreign acquisition prohibition Act. Agricultural land is defined in the bill as any land used for farming, ranching or timber. 

Mississippi’s Secretary of State is charged with enforcing the provisions of the act in conjunction with Mississippi’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce according to the bill. HB348 was referred to the House Committee of Agriculture. 

“We wanted to strengthen our existing laws like the bill in Arkansas. You don’t want adversarial countries coming in and buying land,” Currie said. “We will have a hard time if we end up in a war. You couldn’t buy a house in China but we don’t seem to worry about it here. I try to write bills that have an interest and want from constituents. If they ask me to write legislation I will do my best to represent them.” 

Check back for more updates on the 2024 Mississippi Legislative Session.