A South Dakota bill meant to implement modern regulations on the foreign ownership of agricultural land lives to see another committee.
House Bill 1231, a bill headed by Rep. James Wangsness, updates the state’s alien ownership of agricultural land and registered agent laws by prohibiting certain countries from owning farmland and granting the state’s attorney general the power to investigate violations of the proposed legislation.
The bill passed the House on a 61-6 vote Tuesday, with three lawmakers excused. HB 1231 now heads to the Senate, where it will be assigned to and heard by committee.
Though the legislation made its way through the House with ease, it has yet to garner support from the state’s major farm groups, who have also not voiced direct opposition to the bill.
Some groups, however, do find certain parts of what the bill proposes concerning. South Dakota Pork Producers Council Executive Director Glenn Muller used the word “nervousness” to describe the lingering anxiety over the unintended consequences he believes could result if the bill is passed in its current form.