Eminent Domain Amendment Filed

Today, the state House filed an eminent domain constitutional amendment (HB 1268).  This bipartisan amendment has an incredible 82 sponsors. 

Don’t get too happy.  The language has serious flaws that need to be addressed:

“Private property shall not be taken by eminent domain except for a public use. Public use does not include the taking of property in order to convey an interest in the property for economic development. This paragraph does not apply to the taking of physically blighted properties as defined by general law, nor to takings for access to property. Just compensation shall be paid and, if demanded by the owner, shall be determined by a jury.”

– The government would not be prohibited from abusing blight laws–this is the number one problem that needs to be addressed.  In fact, we now would have an express constitutional amendment allowing government to define blight anyway they want.  This would makes things worse, not better.

– Just compensation needs to be defined to include loss of goodwill, relocation costs, reasonable attorney’s fees and other provisions that make a property owner whole.

– The government always will find non-economic development reasons for seizing property.  When the TTA seizes property for a rail system as well as to give it to a developer to build shops and hotels around the rail, a court will not view the taking as “for economic development,” but instead for a public use (i.e. rail).

– I can’t believe they still have “nor to takings for access to property.”  The government could then seize someone’s home so a private developer could could gain access to another property that the developer could use for economic development.

Let me stress: Courts defer to the government on the stated reason for a seizure–unless a taking is clearly for economic development (which won’t happen), this amendment does nothing.

A bad eminent domain reform amendment is worse than none at all.  This amendment needs serious work.  I hope House members would take the time to fix the flaws before rushing into passing this amendment.