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| Texas Senate Passes Property Rights Bill |
| 2011-02-10 |
| AUSTIN —Legislation aimed at strengthening the rights of property owners in eminent domain cases in Texas won unanimous approval in the Senate on Wednesday. The measure, which goes to the House, passed the Senate in similar form two years ago, but fell victim to an impasse in the House that killed scores of bills in the final days of the last legislative session. Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, author of the proposal, said his aim is to “restore balance” in the eminent domain process where a government agency or other entity takes private property for a public purpose and compensates the landowner. Despite previous changes in the law, Estes said the “deck of cards is still stacked against private property owners” because the eminent domain process “does not always properly recognize the true value of a private landowner’s interest.” Among the various provisions in the bill is language that would allow the original landowner to repurchase his property if no progress toward public use of the land occurs within 10 years of when it is acquired by the governmental entity. “Sometimes land is condemned under the eminent domain process and then never used,” Estes explained. The senator said his bill and similar measures in recent years were prompted by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2005 that sanctioned the use of eminent domain for economic development projects. Texas voters in November 2009 approved a constitutional amendment that limits eminent domain powers by prohibiting government agencies from seizing private property and turning it over to a private developer to increase the local tax base. |
| Posted by:Thromons Grutle8267 |