Today Sen. Bill Eigel sent a letter to Governor Mike Parson, requesting that he call for a extraordinary session to address the issue of foreign ownership of Missouri Farmland.
In the letter, Eigel claim’s that “We must ensure the security of our food supply and protect our military installations from dangerous foreign actors”. Eigel urged the Governor to use his bill, SB9, as a model for what the Governor should use in his proclamation. SB9 banned all foreign ownership of all land in Missouri.
Foreign land ownership was a controversial topic in both the House and Senate this past session. Both chambers attempted to pass legislation limiting foreign land ownership. SB 9, sponsored by Sen. Bill Eigel, died in committee back in January. But HB 903, sponsored by Rep. Mike Haffner, actually made it out of the House and to the Senate. But the bill died in the Senate during the last week of this Session. Ultimately, no legislation regarding foreign land ownership made it to the Governor.
At the end of the letter Eigel stated that “we cannot afford to wait until January to address this important issue”.
The letter was signed by Eigel, as well as Senators Denny Hoskins, Rick Brattin, Mike Moon, Jill Carter, Holly Rehder, Ben Brown, Andrew Koenig and Nick Schroer.
This would not be the first extraordinary session in recent memory for Parson. Last year he called one to address legislation regarding income tax and agriculture related tax credits.
The Governor has yet to give any indication that he will call an extraordinary session
