PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota lawmakers are advancing a number of bills that would curb Chinese influence in South Dakota’s farmland amid concerns among Republican leaders after a spy balloon was spotted and shot down last week.

Republican Rep. Will Mortenson proposed Thursday investigating partnerships between landowners and foreign entities. It comes a week after other lawmakers pushed forth other propositions tackling foreign influence, like banning contracts between state land and foreign countries, and establishing a committee to oversee future foreign purchases.

“We don’t know what we don’t know, and we’re going to start finding out so we can make the next step,” Mortenson said, after his bill passed a house committee vote with a unanimous vote.

The proposals stem from Republican Gov. Kristi Noem’s recent history of curbing the state’s relationship with China. Last year, she banned state employees and contractors from accessing the video platform TikTok on state-owned devices, citing its ties to China. She also said late last year that the state held no direct investments in China after a review.

Noem’s emphasis on her perception of threats posed by China comes as she plans for a series of three policy speeches in Washington that seem to portend the rollout of a possible 2024 bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Next week, according to a person familiar with Noem’s plans, Noem will use one of the three speeches — a Feb. 15 address at the America First Policy Institute — to highlight South Dakota’s response to the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party. She’ll also discuss an executive order, which Noem signed last month, barring the state from engaging in business with some telecom companies owned or controlled by “evil foreign governments,” including China, according to the executive order. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the person is not yet authorized to speak about Noem’s plans publicly.

Alan Vester, Noem’s deputy general counsel, testified Thursday in support of the bill that would provide further insight into the how much of South Dakota’s land is owned by foreign governments.

“Gov. Kristi Noem believes strongly in protecting our state from maligned foreign governments from acquiring foreign agricultural land to the detriment of our state’s security, critical infrastructure or food security,” Vester said.