Public Use Question Stops Land Development on Unanimous Vote. 3 Reasons Why.

  • Does a development project, that receives, some public financing qualify the entity to use eminent domain in Arkansas?
    • No one at the Little Rock Tech Park Authority knew for sure.
    • But, a former elected official, of the Democrat persuasion, put of staunch resistance to eminent domain authority
  • What’s the problem for them with using eminent domain? 
    • Costs more money to use eminent domain than to negotiate
    • Any time spent in court fighting over eminent domain costs the project time and money
  • Voting Members of the Tech Park Authority support higher offer prices to the property owners.

UALR Public Radio | Tech Park Again Faces Finance And Eminent Domain Troubles

Private Property Rights & 2015 Senate Interim Charges. 6 Committees. 7 Interim Charges.

  • Senate State Affairs
    • Eminent Domain: Compensation provided to private property owners for property. Hello, fair market value that properties owners seek. 
  • ​Senate Natural Resources
    • Will peek into eminent domain when they look into federal regulations on new clean water plans. Rural folk don’t like  these federal regs that require mapping of small water ways on private lands.
  • Senate Criminal Justice
    • Civil Asset Forfeiture
  • Veteran Affairs & Military Base Installations
    • Military Base Encroachment
  • Senate Transportation
    • Monitoring Charge: Removing eminent domain authority from private toll corporations
  • Senate Inter-governmental Relations
    • Annexation
    • Municipal Management Districts

The Winning Court Argument That Confirmed Eminent Domain Power for a Pipeline.

The Winning argument of the Pipeline: The pipeline is intrastate and not regulated by FERC. See, look here, Pennsylvanians get a public use/benefit. 

What’s the deal? Pennsylvania courts have been wrangling with whether a Sunoco pipeline qualifies for eminent domain. 

Why does Intrastate or Interstate matter? Eminent domain usually requires a public use or benefit. An interstate pipeline that doesn’t provide supplies to a state may not offer a public use or benefit, and thus has no eminent domain?

How did Sunoco get eminent domain authority? 2 Reasons Why

1. Sunoco is a ‘public utility corporation’ as defined at 15 Pa. CSA Section 1103 which gives it eminent doamin authority

2. The project in its details, explains how Pennsylvanians will benefit from pipeline supplies. Folks, this part is crucial to seal the deal for eminent domain.

Legal Intelligencer | Judge Rules Sunoco Has Eminent Domain Power in Pipeline Project

Lege Trend: Civil Asset Seizure Reform in the Wolverine Homestate

Michigan legislature is moving a bill to refrom civil asset forfeiture laws that will:

  • Increase the burden of proof for police to “clear and convincing evidence,” that the property came from crime. Up from “preponderance of the evidence.”
  • Local police will be required to document the property they seize & their investigation with Michigan state police
  • Michigan state police will have to post online all civil asset forfeitures
  • Expanded to the number of crimes for qhich asset forfeiture reporting will be required to include: prostitution, gambling, human trafficking, identity theft

The civil asset forfeiture reform had bipartisan support and is expected to be signed by Gov. Snyder.

Why does this matter to Texas? Because asset forefeiture reform has been in the works for years and is supported by TPPF and the ACLU.

What’s the bottom line? Asset forefeiture can be used as proceeds to fund local law enforcement. Greater reform, leads to less forefeitures, and that leads to less revenue for local law enforcement.

Governing | Michigan Makes It Harder for Police to Seize People’s Property

 

 

Eminent Domain Campaign Kerfuffle Growing. 3 Points to Know Now.

  1. As a Florida state legislator, Rubio chaired a special commitee on Florida’s eminent domain laws.
  2. Rubio wrote the Florida eminent laws which he says protect private property, prevent eminent doamin for economic development & were awarded an A by the Castle Coalition.
  3. On Fox News on Tuesday, Trump called eminent domain “a wonderful thing”

Rubio took to Hot Air to respond, and the response is spreading. 

Roll Call | Rubio, Trump Begin to Spar Over Eminent Domain

International Business Times |  Marco Rubio-Donald Trump Fight: Young Senator Takes Shots At Real Estate Mogul For Eminent Domain

Hot Air | Hot Air exclusive: Rubio speaks out against abuse of eminent domain

American Spectator | DONALD TRUMP EXPLAINS WHY EMINENT DOMAIN IS AWESOME

 

New airport runway + Eminent Domain = Lawsuit

Chicago O’Hare needed a new runway. To get land for the airport, the city used the treat of eminent domain.

The city assuaged the threat of eminent domain by “assuring residents that the construction “would not have a material impact upon their lives, property or neighborhoods.”

Residents filed suit alleging  that

  1. the city’s assurance that the volume of air traffic would not be signficiant was untrue
  2. The city trimmed neighborhood trees because the fight paths for the new runway were so low
  3. A local elementary school closed due to the new runway noise
  4. A falling airplane engine damaged property
  5. Property values took a nose dive

Courthouse News Service | Residents Crazed by Ohare Runway Noise

2nd Presidential Candidate Jumps on Anti-Eminent Domain Train. 3 Eminent Domain Proposals He Supports.

This week Marco Rubio joined Rand Paul in attacking Donald Trump’s view that eminent doamin is “a wonderful thing.”

Rubio touted his legislative work to support private property rights, including:

  • Private Property protections in statute and as constitutional amendment
  • Eminent Domain statutes should disallow transfer of property after it has been condemned to another private property owner
  • Private developers should not benefit from eminent domain

Weekly Standard | Rubio Hits Trump on Eminent Domain

Campaign Trend: Private Property Rights. Short Term rentals. The $3.6 Million + Local Election Issue

Air BnB is putting in $3.6 million to defeat San Francisco’s ballot proposition concerning short term rentals.

What’s the regulatory problem? The ordinance would restrict how often property owners can rent out their spaces and establish new mechanisms for enforcing those limits. 

What’s going on with supporters of this ordinance? They have about $200,000 & consist of national labor union, hotel workers, and the San Francisco Apartment Association.

The Recorder | Airbnb Digs Deep to Block S.F. Ballot Bill