Federal land seizures face new hurdle: prove no alternative exists.
H.R. 10135 — Not In My Barn Yard Act · Filed by Glenn Thompson (R-PA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Aug 20, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits the federal government from seizing agricultural land through eminent domain unless no feasible alternative exists for the public project. It applies only to future takings, not those already underway, and defines agricultural land as property used for farming, ranching, forestry, or timber production in the past 5 years—excluding small operations under 10 acres generating less than $1,000 annually.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a procedural constraint on federal power—requiring exhaustion of alternatives before eminent domain can be exercised over agricultural land. This is a straightforward property-rights protection, not a deregulation or carve-out.
What the text implies
- The 'feasible alternative' standard is undefined and may invite litigation over what constitutes feasibility, potentially creating years of delay or uncertainty for infrastructure projects.
- The 5-year lookback for agricultural use may protect land that is nominally agricultural but functionally abandoned or transitional, depending on how 'used' is interpreted.
- The $1,000 annual-receipts threshold excludes very small operations, but the 10-acre cap is absolute—a 10.5-acre property generating $50,000 annually would lose protection entirely.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Agricultural landowners gain a meaningful procedural shield against federal seizure, requiring the government to exhaust alternatives before taking their property. This strengthens property rights and democratic accountability by forcing government to justify necessity rather than convenience.
Who stands to gain
- agricultural landowners
- ranchers
- forestry operators
Named in the bill
Federal Government, agricultural landowners, eminent domain
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Aug 20, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Aug 20, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,063 characters) on Aug 24, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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