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Civil Asset Forfeiture generates more than $1 million in revenue per year for The City of Albuquerque.
Is this $1 Million tied to convicted criminals? No. There were no criminal convictions for any of the affected property owners.
What does Albuquerque use the funding for? It pays the salaries of the people seizing the property.
How did the program in Albuquerque go awry? A city attorney publicly referred to asset forefeiture as a ““gold mine” and property seized through civil…
The Feds are using eminent domain? Where? The EPA supports condemning 87 pieces of city owned property in Margate, New Jersey as part of Governor Christi’s Dune Protection Plan.
Any fireworks from Governor Christi? Yes, he called the city “selfish” for opposing his state beach protection plan
How do the Feds tie into this? Funding for the beach protection is coming from the $3.5 billion Hurricane Sandy aid bill
What’s happening? The Texas Legislative Reference Library circulated Civil Asset Reform Information.
What group is putting out the civil asset reform information? Institute for Justice.
What’s the information say? over 100 editorials nation wide are calling for civil asset forfeiture reform.
Why does this matter? Interim Charges call for reviewing civil asset laws. TPPF has been calling for civil asset reform for a couple years.
Why is this a Texas issue? Local governmental entities…
South Carolina activists are pushing for Home Owner Association reform. The Legislature has a speical committee studying HOA reform.
The 7 Hot HOA Topics that stand to be reformed:
To counter Arkansas’ Congressmen opposition to the Plains & Eastern Clean Line transmission line, which would run through Arkansas but not provide electricity in Arkansas, an economic study was released.
Who authored the economic study? the Center for Business and Economic Research at UA’s Sam M. Walton College of Business
What economic boon for Arkansas did the report show?
Farmers in Oklahoma are joining forces over the use of eminent domain to aquire water rights to allow for the sale of Oklahoma’s water.
5 Points that will Make You the Expert.
What project has triggered 307 eminent domain petitions? California’s first leg of the Los Angeles to San Francisco high speed rail.
How many acres does this represent being taken? Since December 2013, 307 eminent domain actions for high speed rail have accounted for 1,135 acres of land.
Which agencies approve the use of eminent domain for high speed rail in California? California’s General Services, Transportation and Finance departments
Who filed a bill? Republican House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah
What motivated him? Learning that federal agencies used 61% of the Land and Water Conservation Fund to acquire land
What is the agency response? “The Interior Department argues it doesn’t use eminent domain to grab up contested land, but rather as a legal tool to reach a price agreement with willing sellers. “
In the 1990s, Georgia wants to protect wealthy quail plantation owners from a new oil pipeline, so it passed new laws related only to oil pipelines.
What does an oil pipeline have to do that a natural gas pipeline doesn’t have to do for eminent domain approval? A pipeline that carries gasoline, diesel and ethanol must:
Has this been a hurdle? yes, it has stopped a pipeline by Kinder Morgan. The…
The Texas Wildlife Association via the Hill Country Alliance raises the issue of private companies and eminent domain.
3 Points are stressed: