Even though House Bill 1268 has 80 co-sponsors (of 120 members), the House has never taken a vote on it and after last night, it looks like it won’t, at least not this session.
Bill sponsor and House Minority Leader, Rep. Skip Stam, R Wake, attempted to move House Bill 1268, Eminent Domain forward on the House floor. The bill has been sitting in the House Judiciary II committee since early July, when it was sent back to committee after a heated debate on the House floor. Last week Stam was successful in at least getting the bill scheduled for a hearing by a small subcommittee of the J II committee. But two meetings were canceled last week; on Thursday and again on Friday when Committee chair, Rep Rick Glazier, D Cumberland, was held up in budget negotiations and couldn?t make it to either meeting.
Then Monday night on the House floor, Stam again tried a procedural move to get the bill heard. Speaker Joe Hackney, D Orange, apparently had other plans for protecting property rights and ruled Stam?s efforts out of order, Stam made a motion to overrule the Speaker but his motion failed on a 62-48 vote (not surprisingly along party lines).
With time running out on this session, looks like a constitutional amendment to protect private property from government takeover by eminent domain is once again, off the table.
Government takeover seems to be everywhere ? no protection from eminent domain takings, a smoking ban, municipalities free to annex, expensive energy requirements and if we?re not careful, a takeover of health care. What?s next? Perhaps a better question – what’s left?
