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Eminent Domination
posted at 2007-11-14 10:38 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
Coming soon to a ballot box near you...the House has approved a proposal for a constitutional amendment curbing the government's ability to condemn and take private property.
The issue comes out of a case in CT, the Kelo case, in which a local government used eminent domain to take land and then sell it to another private owner for economic development. The amendment would keep that from happening by narrowly restricting the purposes for which eminent domain can be used.
Supporters needed a 3/5 vote - and they got it, 112-4. It has to survive one more vote tomorrow, but with a margin like that, it's a pretty safe bet.
Opponents say it's too restrictive - so much so that it threatens to cripple economic development in rural communities. They say current laws are strong enough to make sure eminent domain isn't misused. Anson Dem Prior Gibson called it "a solution in search of a problem."
Still, there wasn't much appetite for a fight with private property rights folks - not even from GIbson. He told his colleagues he didn't like the bill, but would vote for it anyway: "This is a pander vote....and I'm ashamed of it."
