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With the failure of the Supreme Court to render a logical ruling last year on Eminent Domain, concerned citizens and legislatures are looking to rectify the situation. 40 states are looking to modify their eminent domain laws at the present time. However, if you live in those states you need to pay close attention to what the politicians do with this.

Power comes to politicians by spending your money. To maintain power they need to be re-elected. To be re-elected, they need money. It is a vicious cycle and leads to many of the abuses we see regularly in government.

Concerning Eminent Domain, the deep pocket developers will try to water down any legislation to enable them to take your property to create additional profits for themselves, and greater tax revenue for the politicians to spend to garner votes.

So as you follow the eminent domain issue, remember that in the long run the politicians are voting on legislation that goes against their best interests. It is up to them to have the fear of losing more votes and potentially their next election if they fail to act in the best interest of the citizenry.

After the court ruling, four states passed laws reining in eminent domain. Roughly another 40 are considering legislation. In Congress, the House voted to deny federal funds to any project that used eminent domain to benefit a private development, and a federal study aims to examine how widely it is used.
The Washington-based Institute for Justice, a libertarian advocacy group that worked for homeowners in the New London case and in Long Branch, argues that state laws should be changed so property can only be seized for public uses like a park or a school not urban redevelopment that benefits private developers.
Redevelopment usually depends on defining an area as “blighted” or a “slum,” though definitions are vague, said Bert Gall, an attorney with the institute. Criteria can include a building’s age, lack of compliance with building codes, even the size of a yard.  via ABC News

Related posts:

1. US Senate Sits On Eminent Domain Legislation - Property Rights Groups React
2. Georgia Senate Approves Eminent Domain Legislation
3. Georgia Governor Calls For Eminent Domain Constitutional Amendment
4. Virginia Legislature Battles Over Eminent Domain Legislation
5. Senate Fails to Vote on Eminent Domain Legislation