I have filed a bill which would introduce a number of proactive measures to ensure the continued safety and security of all Kentuckians:

House Bill 315: HB 315 would prohibit any foreign entity from purchasing, leasing, or acquiring agricultural land in Kentucky if they are associated with a hostile foreign government identified by the United States. This has been a troubling trend and has alarmed many officials at both the state and federal level. Companies and investors who have strong ties to hostile governments such as China already own upwards of 400,000 acres of agricultural land across the nation, an unsettling amount of which is located directly adjacent key military bases and infrastructure. For example, a Chinese investment group once owned a swath of land located less than a mile from the F. E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, home to one of the United States’ nuclear missile launch sites. In 2023, the federal government identified their ownership of the land as a threat to national security and forced them to sell the property. This is a story all too common in other states, and many have already enacted similar measures to HB 315 in order to protect their citizens and the nation. Distinctly, HB 315 would only prohibit land purchases from these hostile foreign entities, and would not affect important agricultural business and trade partnerships farmers of the commonwealth have with foreign land holders affiliated with our nation’s allies such as Canada and Italy.

This bill has been the source of some misinformation. I would encourage anyone who has questions concerning either of these proposed measures, or any others filed during this regular session, to visit our website at legislature.ky.gov. There, you can find the full text of each bill as well as a plethora of other information concerning the legislative process.