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Friday, January 27, 2006

Ind. Law - Bill restricting use of eminent domain passed House

Updating this ILB report from Jan. 10th, the bill restricting the use of eminent domain bill (HB 1010) has now passed the House.

"House OKs eminent domain limits" is the headline to this story by Niki Kelly in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Some quotes:

Lawmakers hopped on the anti-eminent domain bandwagon Thursday, voting unanimously in the House to restrict the use of condemnation for private profit.

Hoosiers have shown more concern over the use of eminent domain since a key U.S. Supreme Court decision came down last year.

That pressure gave Rep. Dave Wolkins, R-Winona Lake, the support he needed to pass House Bill 1010, which now moves to the Senate for consideration.

He told his colleagues about a letter he received from an elderly South Bend man who has lived in the same home for almost 60 years. He went to a meeting recently and was told the city was taking much of one neighborhood through eminent domain.

So far, the highest offer for any of the homes on the street is $40,000. “That’s not right,” Wolkins said with a quaver in his voice. “I ask you to help me solve this problem.”

The Louisville Courier Journal has this report by Lesley Stedman Weidenbener. Some quotes:
Wolkins acknowledged that the bill will make economic development more difficult, something that leaders of cities, towns and counties are concerned about. But he said that in those cases governments will just have to use blighted property and be prepared to pay more for the land.

In fact, HB 1010 requires that governments pay homeowners 150 percent of the value of their property (rather than 100 percent) if the land will be used for a private development. Plus, governments must pay legal and relocation costs.

Farmers would get 125 percent of the value of their land, plus other costs. Businesses would be reimbursed just the usual 100 percent of their value, but governments would be forced to pay damages as well, which could include lost wages and income.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 27, 2006 08:33 AM
Posted to Indiana Law