Thursday, November 09, 2006

8 States Vote To Restrict Eminent Domain

From CNNMoney.com


Voters on Tuesday responded by voting in favor of the restrictive measures in eight of those initiatives - call it Kelo's revenge.

Two other states rejected similar ballot measures, and results for one were not expected until later on Wednesday.

Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon and South Carolina all passed initiatives to restrict the use of eminent domain, in most cases overwhelmingly.

In Florida, 69 percent voted yes on an amendment that prohibits using eminent domain to force the transfer of property from one private individual or entity to another.

In Georgia, 83 percent voted to approve an amendment to the state constitution that says eminent domain can be used only for public use. A school or park might be okay; the government taking land to give to a mall developer would not be.

The most one-sided vote in favor took place in South Carolina, where 86 percent voted yes to an amendment restricting eminent domain for public use only.

Read the entire story: Kelo's revenge: Voters restrict eminent domain

The vote in California was close. Opponents of Proposition 90 claimed that the proposition went too far and encompassed areas that had to do with zoning and other issues not related directly to eminent domain.

While some individuals read the initiative one way, others read it another. It is certainly apparent that the public is not very happy with the decision that the government could kick you out of your property and give it to another developer so the city can increase the tax base by building more expensive condo projects or other types of projects that would substantially increase a city's tax base.

It is likely that there will be another initiative on the ballot at some time in the future that clears up the language and wording for restricting eminent domain usage. The posting before this has an interesting conversation going on about this issue.

Here is also an interesting story from a ways back.

Eminent Domain: Being Abused?

No comments: