InfoHive – Eminent Domain

What’s happening? Ohio is considering a bill from its last legislative session, this legislative session. This repeat bill would prohibit eminent domain from recreational trails and also allow landowners to veto the use of eminent domain bu their local government. HB 63 (2021 | OH)

Why is this important? A perennial call by legislators is to level the playing field when an entity seeks to take property backed by the power of eminent domain.

How will this be important? Landowner rights are more American than apple pie. When one state adopts a measure like this, it will spread.

Ohio Country Journal | Ohio legislation moving forward

What’s happening? California Republican has filed SB 238 (2021 | CA), the Diversity in Thought Act seeks to protect political affiliation as a protected class.

Why is this important? Cancel Culture is getting its backlash. The Republican author of this bill said, ““It is unfathomable to me that corporations and members of the public would ruin a person’s career, business and family because of their political ideology,” 

How will this be important? Partisan division is at an all time high and people feel like they should be able to express every thought and opinion. The other side in California is saying ““racist, pro-domestic terrorism, xenophobic, misogynistic views do not warrant protection ‘from discrimination.’”

This is starting to sound like two 4 year olds screaming- I’m rubber, you’re glue, whatever I say bounces of me and sticks to you.

Route Fifty | Bemoaning ‘Cancel Culture,’ One State Lawmaker Aims to Make Political Affiliation a Protected Class

What’s the deal? Colorado has a ban on sleeping in cars in designated spots, like rest stops. A Colorado Court it violates the Constitution to prosecute people for sleeping outdoors when indoor shelter is not available to them. This follows a 2018 federal 9th Circuit opinion.

Why is this important? How cities and states handle homeless population is constantly evolving.

How is this important? Depends how far these court cases go and thus how far constitutional issues intersect with homeless policy.

Pagosa Daily Post | Court Rules Camping Ban Prosecution Violates Constitution

What’s the deal? Los Angeles City Council is considering eminent domain to acquire an apartment complex to avoid an inevitable swarm of evictions.

Why is this important? City Council thought it cold use COVID funding for this purpose but it cannot. The $46 million will hav to come from existing funds.

How will this be important? Talk about this project is that the city will save money/it will be more cost effective to acquire existing apartment complexes than to build new affordable housing.

YahooNews via LA Times | Looking to avert evictions, L.A. seeks $46 million to buy Chinatown apartment building

What’s the deal? Arizona passed a statewide preemption bill to regulate short term rentals. The goal was to put Arizona at the front of the sharing economy.

Why is this important? What happened was that instead of homeowners renting out their vacant homes, Arizona experienced an increase in companies buying homes and creating boutique “hotels” in neighborhoods.

How will this be important? Arizona is now seeing a push to repeal preemption just as other states are looking to preempt local short term rental rules.

Jewish News | Phoenix-area property owners grapple with politics of short-term rentals

What’s the deal? The Texas General Land Office has created the Texas Defense Task Force within the General Land Office with the mission to identify federal overreach and fend off threats to the Texas oil and gas economy.

Why is this important? Welcome back to the days where every state official talked about the 10th amendment and federal overreach.

How will this be important? The Texas Defense Task Force will partner with other private entities to pose legal challenges to the federal policies that directly impact Texas

Everything Lubbock | General Land Office launches the Texas Defense Task Force

What’s the deal? The City of Austin has been pushing back against billboard companies that support digital billboards throughout the city. The city wants to protect its skyline. The 5th Circuit said that prohibiting off-premise billboards switching to digital is content-based violation of the First Amendment’s protections on freedom of speech.

Why should we care? Does pretty win? Can landowners choose to add billboards? Are billboards good neighbors? What about free market principles?

How can this impact me? Every issue is in this fight. It is one to watch.

Austin Business Journal | Should digital billboards be allowed across Austin? Supreme Court could decide

What’s the deal? Oregon’s House Bill 2238 (2021 | OR) would have clarified that the Governor can seize any real or personal property during an emergency. Well, that’s not going any where now.

Why should we care? It’s a COVID world. We’re living in a COVID world. All regulations related to emergencies and disasters are up for debate.

How can this impact me? Every state is considering and reconsidering how much power should the state government have in an emergency, who should hold the power, and how should it be exercised. In the author’s words, “As sometimes happens, it has been mischaracterized by interests that put private profiteering before the public good,” 

News21 | Oregon lawmaker won’t pursue bill on governor taking land in emergencies

What’s the deal? A survey of San Francisco based businesses revealed that  63% of the surveyed tech companies reducing or planning to reduce their office space. The vacancy rate is 16,7% and climbing, the highest since 2005. 55% of tech companies plan to keep at least 25% of their employees permanently remote. 36% say they will keep 50% of their employees remote.  59 % said San Francisco regulations, taxes, & policies are factoring into their growth plans.

Why should we care? Office space leasing will impact local economies, rent prices, the locations of businesses, and also reflects the new economy. The new economy isn’t tied to a notion that you will spend 8am to 5pm tethered to the office.

How will this impact me? We all interact with office space by either having it, needing it, visiting it, or meeting in it.

San Francisco Chronicle via Governing | As Tech Companies Emigrate, Some Worry About S.F. Economy

What’s the deal? Atlanta is considering a ban on short term rentals.

Why should we care? The conversation on short term rentals is changing to how short term rentals is causing a loss of community.

Why does this matter to me? The pandemic led to an increase awareness of community. Expect to hear the refrain, sense of community, applied to issues across the board.

USA Today | Atlanta considers ban on short-term rentals