Stevens-Sponsored Legislation Protects Land from Foreign Adversaries

NASHVILLE — As 2025 begins, there are new Tennessee laws that will go into effect. January 1, 2025 will be the first date that certain laws passed by the General Assembly in the last legislative session will go into effect. Senator John Stevens (R-Huntingdon) cracked down on illegal immigration, protected children, and protected land.

“Agriculture is the one of the largest drivers of Tennessee’s economy,” said Stevens. “The protection of this land is absolutely vital to our state. I co-sponsored a bill last legislative session to crack down on foreign adversaries from purchasing our land that will be effective on January 1st, 2025.”

On January 1, the new laws sponsored and co-sponsored by Stevens include:
Collection of data of illegal immigrants requires the DAGC to collect and compile data on the cost to Tennessee taxpayers of illegal immigrants in state custody for criminal offenses. It also requires the DAGC to collect data from law enforcement agencies on the number of persons not lawfully present in the United States. The report will be submitted to the Governor and both speakers of the General Assembly. The budget allocates $383,500 to implement this law and ensure the DA’s Conference has necessary resources to compile the report.

Protect Tennessee Minors Act requires online media companies and operators will be required to verify users’ ages in order to access sites with explicit adult content. Additionally, this act requires companies to match a photograph of an active user to a photograph on a valid form of ID.

Protecting Tennessee property from foreign adversaries further protected Tennessee from land being purchased to hostile foreign nations. This bill prevents prohibited foreign parties designated by the federal government from owning or acquiring property in the state unless certain conditions are met. The new law strengthens a similar law passed last year with stricter protections and reporting requirements. Any prohibited foreign party or business that currently owns land in the state would have to divest itself from the property within two years, according to the bill. The Office of Agriculture Intelligence would also be created within the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to collect data and analyze information regarding the unlawful sale or possession of agricultural land statewide.