Monday afternoon, the Missouri Senate Local Government Elections and Pensions Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 2 17, which sponsors said would modify provisions relating to foreign ownership of agricultural land.

Senator Rusty Black (Senator) and Tullah Coffee (sponsor) told the committee the bill would change the state's rules on nonresident or foreign ownership of farmland. Committee action had not been taken by the end of the hearing.

Supporters and opponents were not detailed in the transcript excerpt provided, but the discussion referenced a 2013 law that the speakers said has divided the agriculture community and "caused a distrust between the people and their government." The transcript does not specify which provisions from the 2013 law would be altered or the specific text of Senate Bill 2 17.

The hearing record in the transcript indicates the item remains in committee; no vote results or formal committee action are recorded in the excerpt. The matter will proceed only if the committee schedules a vote or reports the bill to the full Senate.

Reporting from the state capital, Dean Morgan recorded that several of this legislative session's significant items were in committee this week.