HB 816 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

MILITARY AFFAIRS: Prohibits foreign adversaries from acquiring or owning property near military installations (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

HB 816 prohibits foreign adversaries (as defined by U.S. Treasury) and entities with foreign adversary control from owning or acquiring land within 25 miles of designated Louisiana military installations. The bill directly affects foreign governments, corporations, or investment funds with foreign adversary ties seeking to purchase or lease such adjacent property. Key provisions include requiring affidavits to verify non-adversary status, imposing $50,000 civil penalties for violations, and allowing contract rescission if a foreign adversary interest is discovered. Exceptions cover U.S. citizens, legal residents, and residential properties (1-4 family homes). The law aims to protect military sites by restricting ownership near installations, with enforcement handled by the state attorney general.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jun 2026

Introduced Feb 27, 2026 Signed Jun 8, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB816 Original → HB816 Act 845 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was re-enrolled with expanded sponsorship and updated statutory citations. The core policy regarding the prohibition of foreign adversaries owning property near military installations remains substantively unchanged, though the specific list of military installations subject to the restriction was significantly shortened and reorganized. Additionally, the definitions for 'foreign adversary' and 'person connected with a foreign adversary' were modified to remove specific references to Air Force research laboratories and certain Army facilities, narrowing the scope of protected sites.

Scope change

The scope of prohibited property acquisition was narrowed by removing specific categories of military installations from the definition of protected sites, such as Air Force research laboratories and certain Army bases. The definition of 'foreign adversary' was also updated to remove references to specific Department of Defense databases, relying instead on broader federal criteria.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'military installation' was reduced, removing specific inclusions for Air Force research laboratories, test units, and certain Army bases and ammunition plants.

The definition of 'foreign adversary' was updated to remove references to the Department of the Treasury database and replace them with a direct citation to 15 CFR 7.4(a).

ELIGIBILITY

The list of bill sponsors was expanded to include additional representatives and senators.

TECHNICAL

The statutory citations were updated to reflect new section numbers (R.S. 9:2717.1.2 through 2717.1.8) instead of the previous range.

The structure of the bill was reorganized, moving the definitions section to follow the primary prohibition clause rather than appearing earlier.

Floor votes · Senate May 27, 2026 · House May 7, 2026

How they voted

33–1

Passed · 6 other

Total votes 40

May 27, 2026

D Democratic12

6 Yea 1 Nay 5

50% Yea

R Republican28

27 Yea 1

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read by title, roll called, yeas 92, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.

lower

May 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 32 yeas and 1 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

May 25, 2026

Committee

Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

upper

May 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably.

upper

May 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 93, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

May 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported with amendments (15-0).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Committee

Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

lower

1 primary · 32 co-sponsors