SB 464 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Interest in agricultural land; amends definition of foreign adversaries.

Summary
Interest in agricultural land; foreign adversaries. Amends the definition of foreign adversary, as it relates to the prohibition on ownership of agricultural land by foreign adversaries, to include any business entity that is substantially funded by a foreign government or nongovernment person determined by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to have engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the United States or security and safety of United States persons. The bill also amends the definition of "interest in agricultural land" to (i) include any controlling lease, long-term land use agreement, mineral rights, or water rights and (ii) remove the exclusion for any interest that taken on its own or together with any other interest held in common or under common control does not give the holder of the interest the ability to possess or occupy the agricultural land in any manner or the power or authority to direct the conduct of the agricultural operation being conducted on the agricultural land.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Mar 10, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Delegate Kent Substitute · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended from its original Senate version to a House substitute version, primarily changing the definition of 'foreign adversary' to replace 'substantially funded by' with 'controlled by' a foreign government or person. This strengthens the bill by narrowing the criteria for who qualifies as a foreign adversary, making it easier to identify and regulate entities with direct control rather than just financial ties.
Scope change
The bill's scope regarding foreign adversary identification was narrowed by changing the criteria from financial funding relationships to direct control relationships.
DEFINITION

Changed 'substantially funded by' to 'controlled by' in the definition of foreign adversary, making it easier to identify entities under foreign government control.

TECHNICAL

Added House substitute formatting and metadata including bill number 26108809D and floor amendment date March 2, 2026.

Removed original Senate version metadata including original bill number 26103787D and initial introduction date January 14, 2026.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 12, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 12, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
19 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
24
Key actions
4
Committee
6
Mar 2, 2026
Committee
Rereferred to Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (13-Y 9-N)
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources
lower
Feb 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (38-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Jan 26, 2026
Committee
Rereferred from Courts of Justice to Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (9-Y 0-N)
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Richard Stuart
Richard Stuart
RRepublican
VA
25