(Radio Iowa) – As business groups and the governor tout a new state economic development program for “Major Economic Growth Attraction or “MEGA” sites, House Speaker Pat Grassley has an idea for pairing a MEGA site program with something he’s calling “Freedom Sites.”

Grassley says it would help the state be more aggressive in recruiting businesses in high-tax states like Minnesota and Illinois.

The Iowa Senate voted 45-to-two last year to let foreign businesses buy more than 320 acres of farmland — the current legal limit — if they’re planning to spend at least a billion dollars building a manufacturing plant or facility focused on research or bioscience. The bill stalled in the House in the closing days of the 2023 legislative session, but Grassley expects it will be discussed again this year. The 2024 legislative session begins Monday.