WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. - Virginia is home to the FBI Headquarters, Langley Air Force Base and of course, NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility.
Those are exactly the types of places this new legislation would protect from possible foreign surveillance.
The Chinese spy balloon saga ratcheted up tensions between the U.S. and China.
It also put the spotlight on Chinese owned farmland across the country, including near sensitive sites like military bases.
Accomack County Delegate Robert Bloxom, Jr., a Republican, says that is exactly what a bipartisan group of Virginia lawmakers wants to avoid.
"The need of course on the Eastern Shore is because we have a lot of federal assets, Wallops Island and NASA, with a lot of farmland around it," he said.
Governor Glenn Youngkin cited Wallops Flight Facility as a site worth protecting.
"We can't begin to allow entities that are owned by the Chinese government to buy up our farmland and so we're just not going to let it happen," he said during an appearance on Fox News' Hannity last month.
Robert Sabbatini with the Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce says the move also means more farmland in U.S. hands.
"So in Accomack County, Northern Accomack County some of our best and most prosperous farms are located right there and for the agricultural community that's important to keep that right here," he said.
To be clear, Chinese entities do not currently own farmland in Accomack County.
Delegate Bloxom says farmland near Wallops Flight Facility recently went on the market. A Chinese entity did not buy it, but Bloxom says that highlights the need for this legislation.
"The fear of course was it was on the open market, 100 acres right up against the fence. And that kind of spearheaded the move, the need to move this quickly," he said.
This legislation passed in both the House and Senate.
Delegate Bloxom says it is currently being reviewed by the Virginia Attorney General's Office.
Governor Youngkin has signaled he intends to sign it into law.
