2017 legislative issues – Page 17 – InfoHive

INTERIM. 2 Problems. Property Rights. 1 West Houston TIRZ.

The Memorial City TIRZ, a special district, in located in west Houston, is geerating attention for these structural and operational problems:

The TIRZ was created in 1999 by Mayor Brown
- It called for “qualified neighborhood residents” to be the board members
- Spring Branch West Super Neighborhood says appointees aren’t being vetted through them, and they have no representation on the board
Flooding sparked a lawsuit against the TIRZ
- A 2 year flood led the Residents Against Flooding…

INTERIM. Asset Forfeiture Bill from the Golden State.

Americans for Tax Reform & the ACLU Support California’s SB 443 that protects against abuses of the asset forfeiture system.

What protection is California adding before property can be taken via civil asset forefeiture?

Requires a conviction before before local agencies can collect any proceeds from federal equitable sharing funds.

Americans for Tax Reform | Americans for Tax Reform Endorses California’s Property Rights Bill
10th Amendment Center | End the Status Quo on Asset…

INTERIM. Does the Economic Impact of Texas High Speed Rail Support Eminent Domain?

What great economic gains does Texas Central Rail points to with high speed rail?

$36 billion economic impact over 25 years
TCR will pay $2.5 billion in taxes to state, counties and local governments
The $10 billion project is a job creator, providing 10,000 jobs a year during the four-year construction phase and an additional 1,000 jobs, once the train is in operation.

What does Grimes County Judge say about economic benefits and the impact to eminent domain? Irrelevant. “The power of…

12+ Texas Land Owners Lawsuits. Pecos Pipeline. 1st Pipeline of its Kind. What the Attorney Says.

What the land owner attorney says about the eminent domain lawsuits for the pipeline to Mexico :

No one has ever used eminent domain to build a pipeline that only delivers oil and gas to Mexico.
The Railroad Commission does no investigation on whether the pipeline is a common carrier.

News West 9 | Pipeline company files eminent domain lawsuits against Big Bend landowners

INTERIM STUDY. Relocation Costs Primary Issue. South Dallas Water Sewer Project. Project Halted. Eminent Domain Practices Examined. The Key Informed Intel.

What public project does Dallas want to build? A draingage tunnel project

How long has the family lived on the land? 60+ years

What does the property owner say? Can she buy another piece of similar property to live? She says, no, she can’t. In her words: ““My house is paid for — been paid for,” said Freddie Baker, 86. “They’ve got to give me enough money to pay for whatever I want, and I’ve got to live better than I’m living. I ain’t giving away nothing.””

Did the…

Legal Trend: Denbury Back at Texas Supreme Court, 3 Key Pieces Informed Intel.

Friday’s Texas Supreme Court orders included accepting Denbury. They’re back like the Terminator and Poltergiest rolled into one.

Even though the order was granted on April1st, it is not an April Fools joke.
In February 2015 the appellate court reversed the trial court that ruled in favor of Denbury pipeline.
What was the losing argument last year? That Denbury was a common carrier. The court looked at the low number of third parties that had contractual arrangments for the…

INTERIM. Trend: Border Wall Meets Eminent Domain. Meet the King of Spain. Meet the Texans.

Land along the border is largely privately held. To build a wall, private land has to be aquired by the government. Here’s one view:

Land transfered by the King of Spain was aquired to build the current partial border wall? Yes, land that had been held by the same family since the initital land grant from the King of Spain in 1767.

Surely the feds own some of the border lands? Yes, about 33% of the land is either federal or tribal lands

Where is most of the 67% of private land? TEXAS

…