Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens protections for farmland and farm owners by restricting certain federal takings when feasible alternatives exist, but that protection could raise costs, delay or complicate infrastructure and conservation projects and create legal uncertainty about what counts as a feasible alternative.
Farmers and rural communities: reduces the risk that productive agricultural land and family farms will be taken by the federal government when feasible alternatives exist, helping preserve farm livelihoods and continuity of agricultural production.
Landowners (especially farm owners): narrows federal eminent-domain power in some cases, increasing owners' negotiation leverage and the chance of better compensation or voluntary sales.
Taxpayers and local governments: federal infrastructure and conservation projects could become harder or more expensive to site and complete, causing project delays and higher public costs.
Local and state governments: the bill creates legal uncertainty about what qualifies as a "feasible alternative," likely increasing litigation risk and delaying projects.
Rural communities and some landholders: may limit the federal government's ability to site projects that need contiguous or specific parcels (e.g., roads, utilities), shifting costs or impacts onto other landowners or communities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Stops the federal government from condemning agricultural land if a feasible alternative to the public use exists and defines which parcels qualify as agricultural land.
Official title: To prohibit the exercise of eminent domain over agricultural land, and for other purposes.
Introduced August 20, 2026 by Glenn Thompson · Last progress August 20, 2026
Prohibits the federal government from using eminent domain to take agricultural land when a feasible alternative to the proposed public use exists. It defines "agricultural land" to include land used at the time the government seeks to take it or used within the prior five years for farming, ranching, forestry, or timber production, with a small-parcel exception for very low‑receipts plots. The prohibition does not apply to condemnations that began before the law takes effect. The law is narrowly focused: it changes when the federal government can seize farmland by eminent domain and clarifies which parcels count as agricultural land.