An Arizona House panel approved a bill that would block the sale and lease of state lands to foreign governments and some foreign corporations.
The bill imposes restrictions on any company based in China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria or Venezuela. That also applies to businesses with a majority of shareholders in those countries.
The bill does not include Saudi Arabia, whose Fondemonte company leases 3,500 acres of state land in La Paz County, and uses an unknown amount of water.
Some lawmakers discussed expanding the bill to include more countries, such as ones the U.S. State Department deems sponsors of terrorism.
Democratic dissenters believe the bill does not accomplish its goal of protecting state groundwater.
