MS HB280

Creates a nine-member study committee to examine foreign government purchasing, acquiring, leasing, or holding interests in Mississippi agricultural land

Committee members include the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Attorney General, chairs of House and Senate Judiciary A and Agriculture committees, plus appointees from the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House (including a Farm Bureau representative)

Requires the committee to study total foreign-owned agricultural land, percentage changes over the past 10 years, current land uses, and foreign ownership of water rights, desalination facilities, and energy production/storage/distribution facilities

Committee must assess impacts on water rights and food security, review why current prohibitions on foreign land ownership are not being enforced, and recommend policy changes

Report with findings must be submitted to the Legislature by December 1, 2023, with the act taking effect July 1, 2023