Category Archives: 2017 legislative issues

A train proposal leads lawmaker to end eminent domain for all private companies.

The train route:   The Great Lakes Basin Railroad

The homestate for legislators wanting to stop eminent domain for the train: Wisconsin

The method to stop the train: End eminent domain for all private entities

Northern Public Radio | Beloit-Area State Lawmakers Try To Stop A Train By Changing State Law

City in Rust Belt Votes Down Pipeline. 2 Takeaways.

The city:  Bowling Green, Ohio

The city council vote:  7 to 0 to deny right of way access for a pipeline in the city

The takeaways:

  • Offering to follow existing easements isn’t enough to get around a growing sentiment of no eminent domain for private gain
  • The pipeline may now exercise eminent domain against the city

The Toledo Blade | Bowling Green council votes down pipeline plan

 

Land Use. Municipal Management District Recommendations for 2017.

The Senate IGR Interim Committee Report has a laundry list of municipal management district (MMD) reforms. Here’s what you need to know:

  • Notices to create a MMD must be before legislation is considered
    • This is a change in committee policy
  • New MMDs that overlap also require notice to TCEQ
    • This is a change in committee policy
  • If property owners are annexed into an existing MMD, notice needs to be the same as when the MMD is created
  • New MMDs should ahve a 2nd notice when the new MMD…

Annexation Recommendations from IGR.

IGR Interim Committee Report skips specific recommendations and offers 15 broad recommendations for handling local governments:

  • The legislature should consider providing consistency and eliminating the possibility of variances by strengthening the uniformity in ordinance procedures and standards.

  • The legislature should improve transparency and find a more appropriate balance between drafting ordinances and providing ordinance information to voters by supporting reforms that…

3 Recommendations for Eminent Domain Reform. Senate State Affairs.

Senate State Affairs Committee Interim Report offers the following recommendations for eminent domain reform:

  • Property Owner must be fairly compensated. Offers are often unfair, below market.
  • Property owners must be able to recover all or a portion of the costs that they incur
  • Amend the landowner bill of rights to:
    • clarify that some property may be included that the condemnor has no legal authority to condemn
    • offers should separate property that the condmenor wants to purchase and an…

Legal Trend. No Pre-condemnation Access. +1 State Supreme Court

Requiring that land owners allow precondemnation access to their land for pipelines is going out of fashion.

The latest court to side against pipelines in eminent domain: The West Virigina State Supreme Court

What did the West Virigina Supreme Court have to say? 

  • unconvinced the pipeline serves a public benefit
  • if there is no public benefit, there is no eminent domain and there is no access to land without land owner consent.

Why did the court decide there was no public benefit in the…