Techie Buys Beach Front Property. Surfers Want Beach Access. Coastal Commission Steps in with Eminent Domain. Plot for Point Break #3 Develops.

Techies, Surfers and a state agency? Yes, a founder of Sun Microsystems bought 89 acres of beach front property sorth of Maverick’s. It could also be the plot to Point Break #3.

Had surfers had access to the beach before his purchase? yes.

How did the state lands commission get involved? 

  • It began with criminal charges agaisnt the surfers, with video tape evidence of the alleged trespass.
  • The criminal charges go away.
  • The State Lands Commission stesp in to negotiate access.
  • The techie wants $30 million for beach access.
  • The State Lands Commission isn’t biting for $30 million.

The Lands Commission has previously indicated the path to beach access may be with eminent domain.

The Inertia | Billionaire Demands $30 Million from California to Allow Public on “His” Beach

 

Private Property Rights. Meets Data Security in Billboards. 3 Bits Informed Intel.

What do private property rights, data security & billboards have in common? A lot when billboards are partnering with telecom to track people’s travel patterns and behaviors through their mobile phones.

Tracking travel patterns and location creates data.  Data creation leads to data storage which leads to a trove of data for hackers.

The Center for Digital Democracy says ““It is incredibly creepy, and it’s the most recent intrusion into our privacy.”

NYTimes | See That Billboard? It May See You, Too

1 Pipeline = 2 States Stop Eminent Domain via Legislation + 1 Court Also says No to Eminent Domain.

A pipeline that will traverse South Carolina & Georgia has the 2 states pushing legislation to reign in eminent domain. Let’s look:

The South Carolina bill package will:

  • Establish a 5 year moratorium on pipeline eminent domain use
  • Create a Commission to study eminent domain & make recommendation about pipeline use of eminent domain

The Georgia bill will:

  • eminent domain moratorium until July 2017
  • commission to study the process for awarding private companies eminent domain authority

Georgia regulators had denied the pipeline eminent domain authority. The pipeline moved the issue to courts, and the first judge ruled

WJBF | South Carolina and Georgia eminent domain bills move forward

Florida Times Union | Pipeline-stalling bill passes Georgia House, heads to Senate

Jasper County Sun Times | S.C. Senate approves scaled-back eminent domain bill

South Carolina S.868 & South Carolina S.1065

Georgia HB 1036

12 Eminent Domain Lawsuits. 1 Pecos Pipeline. 3 Bits Informed Intel.

What issues are land owners raising in the 12 pending eminent domain lawsuits for the Trans Pecos pipeline?

  • Whether the petitions for eminent domain are valid
  • Whether there is a proper public use (can there be a public use in Texas if Texas is not a recipient of any of the goods in the pipeline?)

Is this pipeline using eminent domain like every other pipeline in Texas using eminent domain? No, no one has ever built a pipeline like Trans Pecos with the purpose of selling natural gas to Mexico

Can the pipeline start building while lawsuits are pending? Yes. 

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

TREND: A State audit reveals County improperly used eminent domain

What state allows an auditor to look at eminent domain? Oklahoma

What was the Oklahoma state auditor reviewing that included eminent domain? Records, process and procedure at Creek County, Oklahoma

What eminent domain related violations did the OK auditor find?

  • failed to provide sufficient paperwork to determine eminent domain was used in accordance with state statutes
  • court records showed that the property was obtained for economic development, a violation of state law
  • an executive session of the county commissioners related to the property was not retained, as it should have been under state law
  • county had no documents related to an offer to the property owner
  • county had no documentation related to negotiations with the property owner
  • county had no documents related to an appraisal of the land in question

Tulsa World | State auditor criticizes Creek County commissioners’ procedure in property purchase through eminent domain

Lege Trend: Licensing of Land Men.

What state is considering licensing land men? Pennsylvania

What requirements are being considered? 

  • land men would be licensed and regulated through the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission

What was the genesis for this bill? Complaints from landowners that land men were making statements that were untrue about either the impact of a projected pipeline or the power of eminent domain. 

Pennsylvania Senate Bill 991

Reading Eagle | Lawmaker questions conduct of land agents

 

Tarrant County Voices on Eminent Domain. 4 Bits Informed Intel.

In a letter to the editor of the Ft. Worth Star Telegram, a North Texan from the Tea Party rich lands, makes the following points about eminent domain:

  • The land owners had to go to court to get just and adequate compensation.
  • Forcing this into the courts is “either gross incompetence or willful abuse of authority.”
  • its not cool when  the “Rangers initially didn’t want to pay the judgments, insisting this was the city’s (taxpayers’) responsibility. This in spite of being lavished with $200 million of largely public monies to build a stadium.”
  • This stadium use of eminent domain is “hypocrisy that passes for business as usual”

Why does this matter? Because vocal private property rights supporters will innundate legislators with similar arguments about all eminent domain bills.

Ft. Worth Star Telegram | Eminent Domain letter to the editor

Lege Trend: Adding Requirements to Pre-condemnation Access for Private Companies Using Eminent Domain. Bonjour: Oil, Gas, Electric…

Which state is putting in new requirements for pre-condemnation surveying access for private companies that have eminent domain authority? West Virginia

What are the new requirements for pre-condemantion access? To receive pre-condemantion access to private property, the condeming entity must:

  • send a letter via certified mail
  • the letter must be sent 15-to-60 days before the date of the survey

What sparked this bill? A court stopped precondemnation access for surveyors because public use had not been proven at the time of the pre-condemnation access

Bluefield Daily Telegraph | Natural gas pipeline: Bill would allow surveyors on private property with notice

 

Lege Trend: 5 year moratorium on private company eminent domain use.

Which state legislature is moving a 5 year moratorium on private company eminent domain use? South Carolina

What motivated this move? The Palmentto pipeline

What is the Legislature required to do in those 5 years? Study the use of eminent domain, specifically as it applies to pipelines. 

Jasper County Sun Times | S.C. Senate approves scaled-back eminent domain bill

 

Private Property Rights TREND: Air Share Regulations. Sharing Economy. INTERIM.

Is air share on a digital platform permitted? In August 2014, the FAA shut down air share, and limits open seats to friends of the pilot only.

What fix is in the works to allow air share? Congressman Mark Sanford added an amendment for air share to the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act of 2016 

Americans for Tax Reform | Planesharing Aims for Liftoff Despite FAA Drag