I don’t know if you all have been paying attention, but the response across the nation in response to the awful ruling by the Supremes has been staggering and swift. Here is but a sample:
A new law will protect Texans against government entities that may want to seize their private property on behalf of private ventures.
“These projects, often in the name of economic development, should not come at the expense of people’s private property rights,” says Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who signed Senate Bill 7 into law this week.
“There is no bigger supporter of economic development than I. But I draw the line when government begins to pick winners and losers among competing private interests, and the loser is the poor Texan who owns the land to begin with.”
In Austin, the fate of Player’s, a popular burger joint located near the University of Texas campus, recently became the subject of eminent domain after university officials announced plans to build a new conference center and hotel.
The university was trying to acquire land around the Player’s site, located at Martin Luther King Boulevard and University Avenue, to build the conference center and hotel by 2008.
You can peruse the archives to find out what I think about Rick Perry, but from what I can tell, this is a good piece of legislation. Government shouldn’t be allowed to take land from one private entity and give it to another private entity. I will do a round-up on eminent domain sometime this week.