# Indiana SB 256: Foreign agent registration, foreign terrorist organizations, and foreign adversaries. Indiana SB 256, Foreign agent registration, foreign terrorist organizations, and foreign adversaries., is a Second Regular Session 124th General Assembly (2026) Senate bill sponsored by Chris Garten (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-05 (Public Law 131); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB256-2026 - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Indiana SB 256 - State: Indiana - Session: Second Regular Session 124th General Assembly (2026) - Title: Foreign agent registration, foreign terrorist organizations, and foreign adversaries. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-08 - Last action: 2026-03-05, Public Law 131 - Sponsor: Chris Garten (Republican) - Cosponsors: 14 - Subjects: judiciary, the house - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 4 (268 yes, 14 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 12 ## Summary Provides that contracts entered into, amended, or renewed by a qualified entity for the provision of a technological product or service must contain a provision requiring the contractor to confirm that the contractor and any subcontractors working under the contract for the contractor are not prohibited persons. Requires certain persons acting on behalf of a hostile foreign country to register with the attorney general. Establishes a procedure to deny state benefits to persons who aid a foreign terrorist organization. Requires a state educational institution to meet certain requirements regarding the admission and enrollment of a foreign student into qualifying programs at state educational institutions. Requires an approved postsecondary educational institution to provide to the commission for higher education the number of foreign students currently enrolled in a qualifying program and the number of foreign students enrolled in a qualifying program for each academic year for the preceding 10 years. Prohibits certain individuals and business entities from acquiring real property located in Indiana. Provides that an agreement or cooperative agreement between a unit and a prohibited person is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable. Repeals existing statutes regarding foreign ownership of agricultural land. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Some visa holders keep homebuying access: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, a limited exception lets otherwise prohibited individuals with valid, unexpired nonimmigrant visas buy Indiana property. The visa must remain valid for more than 12 months after purchase. The property must be zoned for single-family residential use and cover no more than one… - Property lenders and third parties gain protections: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, non-prohibited people and businesses face no civil or criminal liability for failing to check another party’s status. Forced divestiture generally preserves genuine mortgages, liens, and other property interests. However, interests created after an effective notice of the pe… - Prohibited landowners risk forced sales and penalties: cost, high. Beginning July 1, 2026, prohibited owners holding property on that date cannot act as foreign-adversary agents. For these existing owners, forced divestiture requires clear and convincing evidence of agency; owners then must show ownership poses no specified risk. The owner’s burden is to show this… - Foreign students face funding and disclosure limits: cost, medium. Covered foreign students admitted after a security review must attest before enrollment that they have not accepted foreign-adversary funding. They must also promise not to accept such direct or indirect support in the future. State colleges must immediately unenroll students when they learn the st… - Some foreign students face admission checks: cost, medium. Beginning August 15, 2026, Indiana state colleges must review covered foreign students for foreign influence and research security before admission. Covered students are foreign-adversary citizens who are not U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or people granted U.S. asylum. Covered fields i… - Designated terrorist affiliates lose state benefits: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the governor’s designation of a foreign terrorist organization affiliate triggers bans on state support. Designated people and entities cannot receive state funding, employment, tax benefits, other state benefits or privileges, or state contracts. State-funded universities,… - Foreign political agents must register and pay: cost, low. Beginning January 1, 2027, covered foreign agents doing political work in Indiana must register with the attorney general. Coverage requires acting for a covered foreign principal, receiving its direct or indirect financing, and doing political work on its behalf. Agents must file before starting o… - Foreign-agent filing violations bring civil penalties: cost, low. For violations after December 31, 2026, foreign agents and foreign-supported political groups face civil penalties for covered filing failures. These include missing filings, materially incorrect statements made without reasonable care, and failing to correct or report after an attorney general req… - Foreign-backed political groups face yearly filings: cost, low. For political activity after December 31, 2026, covered foreign-supported political groups must file annually before February 1. Coverage includes groups receiving money or other value from a covered foreign principal or agent within the previous three calendar years. Support from genuine arm’s-len… - Local governments lose foreign-linked agreement options: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Indiana local governments cannot enter sister-city or other cooperative agreements with prohibited persons. Any such agreement is void and cannot be enforced. - Foreign-linked technology vendors face contract bans: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Indiana state and local governments cannot buy covered technology from prohibited foreign-adversary-linked vendors. Covered technology includes information systems, surveillance, lidar, and artificial intelligence, but not drones. Foreign adversaries include China, Russia, N… - Foreign-linked buyers face new land limits: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Indiana replaces its prior foreign-business agricultural-land law with broader restrictions for prohibited foreign-adversary-linked persons and businesses. The law bars covered acquisitions of property, mineral rights, water or river-related rights, and new leases. Covered t… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Chris Garten (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Aaron Freeman (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Andrew Ireland (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Blake Doriot (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Chris Jeter (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Chris Judy (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Daryl Schmitt (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Eric Koch (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Gary Byrne (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Justin Busch (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Liz Brown (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Matt Commons (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Randy Maxwell (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Ron Alting (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Scott Baldwin (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-02-27 | House | Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the House | pass | 82 | 13 | | | 2026-02-27 | Senate | Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the Senate | pass | 49 | 0 | | | 2026-02-19 | House | Third reading: passed | pass | 93 | 1 | | | 2026-01-26 | Senate | Third reading: passed | pass | 44 | 0 | | ## Actions (45) - 2026-03-05: Public Law 131 (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Signed by the Governor (Senate) - 2026-02-27: CCR # 1 filed in the House (House) - 2026-02-27: CCR # 1 filed in the Senate (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the House; Roll Call 412: yeas 82, nays 13 (House) - 2026-02-27: Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the Senate; Roll Call 316: yeas 49, nays 0 (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Signed by the Speaker (House) - 2026-02-27: Senator Baldwin added as conferee (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Senator Taylor G removed as conferee (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Senator Baldwin removed as advisor (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Senator Alting added as coauthor (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Signed by the President Pro Tempore (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Signed by the President of the Senate (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Representative Judy removed as advisor (House) - 2026-02-26: Representative Garcia Wilburn removed as conferee (House) - 2026-02-26: Representative Judy added as conferee (House) - 2026-02-25: Senate advisors appointed: Randolph Lonnie M, Baldwin, Koch (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Senate conferees appointed: Garten, Taylor G (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Senator Brown L added as coauthor (Senate) - 2026-02-24: Senate dissented from House amendments (Senate) - 2026-02-24: Motion to dissent filed (Senate) - 2026-02-24: House advisors appointed: Judy, Jeter, Ireland, Burton (House) - 2026-02-24: House conferees appointed: Commons, Garcia Wilburn (House) - 2026-02-24: Senator Maxwell added as coauthor (Senate) - 2026-02-20: Returned to the Senate with amendments (House) - 2026-02-19: Third reading: passed; Roll Call 292: yeas 93, nays 1 (House) - 2026-02-18: Amendment #2 (Commons) prevailed; voice vote (House) - 2026-02-18: Representative Ireland added as cosponsor (House) - 2026-02-18: Amendment #1 (Judy) prevailed; voice vote (House) - 2026-02-18: Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed (House) - 2026-02-16: Committee report: amend do pass, adopted (House) - 2026-01-28: First reading: referred to Committee on Judiciary (House) - 2026-01-27: Referred to the House (Senate) - 2026-01-26: Cosponsors: Representatives Judy, Jeter (Senate) - 2026-01-26: House sponsor: Representative Commons (Senate) - 2026-01-26: Third reading: passed; Roll Call 82: yeas 44, nays 0 (Senate) - 2026-01-26: Senator Doriot added as coauthor (Senate) - 2026-01-22: Senator Byrne added as coauthor (Senate) - 2026-01-22: Senator Schmitt added as coauthor (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Amendment #1 (Garten) prevailed; voice vote (Senate) - 2026-01-15: Committee report: do pass, adopted (Senate) - 2026-01-08: Coauthored by Senators Busch, Baldwin (Senate) - 2026-01-08: First reading: referred to Committee on Judiciary (Senate) - 2026-01-08: Authored by Senators Garten, Koch, Freeman (Senate) ## Bill text - Engrossed Senate Bill (H): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.03.ENGS?format=pdf) - Engrossed Senate Bill (S): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.05.ENGH?format=pdf) - Enrolled Senate Bill (S): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.06.ENRH?format=pdf) - Introduced Senate Bill (S): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.01.INTR?format=pdf) - Senate Bill (H): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.04.COMH?format=pdf) - Senate Bill (S): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.02.COMS?format=pdf) ## Related bills - SB 239: Various education matters. (signed) - SB 204: Various education matters. (signed) - SB 179: Indiana department of transportation. (signed) - SB 185: Alcohol and tobacco matters. (signed) - SB 80: Code publication. (signed) - HB 1424: Farm and homestead food sales. (signed) ## Sources - [Engrossed Senate Bill (H) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.03.ENGS?format=pdf) - [Engrossed Senate Bill (S) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.05.ENGH?format=pdf) - [Enrolled Senate Bill (S) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.06.ENRH?format=pdf) - [Introduced Senate Bill (S) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.01.INTR?format=pdf) - [Senate Bill (H) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.04.COMH?format=pdf) - [Senate Bill (S) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SB0256/versions/SB0256.02.COMS?format=pdf) ## Related - [SB 239: Various education matters.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB239-2026) - [SB 204: Various education matters.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB204-2026) - [SB 179: Indiana department of transportation.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB179-2026) - [SB 185: Alcohol and tobacco matters.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB185-2026) - [SB 80: Code publication.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB80-2026) - [HB 1424: Farm and homestead food sales.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-HB1424-2026) - [Indiana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/indiana/bills) - [Indiana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/indiana) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB256-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).