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Monday, August 08, 2005

Ind. Law - More on eminent domain in Indiana

The Noblesville Daily Times also has a comprehensive story today on eminent domain and the upcoming legislative interim committee meeting. Some quotes:

State Sen. Luke Kenley said a [2005] bill from a northern Indiana legislator would have made it harder for Indiana units of government to take land and would ban the practice of taking land for private development.

With the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kelo vs. the City of New London, it is likely that a bill by Rep. Dave Wolkins, Winona Lake, will get more attention in the coming General Assembly, Kenley said. Wolkins chairs a new eminent domain study committee, which begins its work this week. Kenley serves on that study committee. * * *

Wolkins' bill would require that private property taken by the government not be used for the benefit of another private property owner, Kenley said. It also would make the government pay a premium for taking land.

Presently, Indiana landowners are supposed to be paid a fair price for their land if the government takes it. That price is usually determined by an appraisal process. * * *

Wolkins has stated that in light of the Kelo ruling, revising Indiana's eminent domain laws will be one of his top legislative priorities in the 2006 legislative session.

"In the last session, there were particular special interest groups at work to defeat my eminent domain legislation despite an overwhelming amount of citizen support in favor of it. I intend to do whatever it takes to get my legislation passed in the upcoming session," Wolkins said.

In particular, he takes issue with a position by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns supporting the Supreme Court ruling. In a recent letter to newspapers, IACT said the court's ruling is good for Indiana and will allow local governments to "bring jobs and a vibrant economy to cities and towns."

Wolkins disagrees, saying, in a news release, "While I fully support economic development and job creation, local government's seizure of land to be privately developed should not be considered to be in the best interest of citizens. The goal of government should be to serve the people, not turn a profit."

Indiana law allows governments that want to redevelop an area to first decide that the area is "blighted." Wolkins said his bill would put new requirements in place that would make it harder for an area to be declared blighted. This is important, he said, because local governments have sometimes declared areas that have had well-kept homes in them as blighted only so a private developer could obtain the land and build something else.

Kenley, who said he generally agrees with the Wolkins bill, said the Eminent Domain Committee will try to have a bill crafted by November that would be introduced to the next session of the General Assembly.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 8, 2005 01:22 PM
Posted to Indiana Law