Interim Charges - Eminent Domain Print E-mail
Friday, 30 November 2007
The ability of our citizens to own private property is a keystone to our democracy and economic strength. We want to make sure landowners are properly compensated when land is taken for public purposes, and that the eminent domain process is fair from start to finish. That is why I have asked the House Committee on Land and Resource Management to thoroughly examine this issue.
In light of the 2005 Kelo decision by the United States Supreme Court, legislators have moved quickly to protect private rights from eminent domain procedures. One of the interim charges concerning this topic will be to observe and study ongoing litigation and current practices by condemning authorities. This will be done in order to make recommendations for changes in eminent domain law needed to better protect private property rights. Specifically, legislators will examine the laws used to determine the amount of compensation property owners receive when their land is condemned and compared it to laws and practices in other states.

Another charge will be to research annexation practices in the state to determine whether municipalities are abiding by both the spirit and the letter of the state's annexation laws, thereby maintaining a proper balance between municipal governments and individual residents.
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