More encouraging news: Tulsa State Rep. Mark Liotta, a Republican, issued the following statement last Thursday in response to the U. S. Supreme Court's ruling in the eminent domain abuse case Kelo v. New London:
OKLAHOMA CITY – A U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing governments to seize private property to benefit developers sets a dangerous precedent that must be fought, a state lawmaker said Thursday.“When I first read the story, I could not believe it could happen in this country. said Rep. Mark Liotta R-Tulsa The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that governments may seize individuals’ homes and businesses to benefit private economic development if the new development will generate new tax revenue to the government.
“This ruling is outrageous and undermines the foundation of the American dream – the right to truly own your home,” said Liotta, “It’s a direct slap in the face of property owners. Eminent domain can be used for the public good, but the court has stretched that definition way beyond reason by saying ‘the public good’ now includes the personal financial gain of private developers, if it translates to increased revenue to the local government. Every homeowner and potential homeowner should be outraged.”
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor warned in her dissent that the beneficiaries of the court ruling “are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms.”
Liotta agreed, saying the decision opened the door for wealthy individuals to run roughshod over middle-class families. “This decision opens the door for massive corruption at all levels of government,” Liotta said. “Every community is now open to the possibility of hidden deals between unscrupulous developers and their cronies on city councils or state legislatures to take property for private gain.”
Liotta warned “I intend to study current state statutes to see if there is any possibility of further protecting Oklahoma property owners during the next legislative session. We simply cannot sit by and wait until it’s your home or my home they come after. This fight is not over.”
He's right -- no home, no business, no church is safe under this ruling and under Oklahoma's current laws. I'm very happy to see that the Republicans in our state legislature are taking this issue seriously and looking for ways to protect property owners.
Comments (3)
A builder has applied to turn Justice Souter's house into a hotel:
http://www.freestarmedia.com/hotellostliberty2.html
Thus improving the economic base of the city. Appears to be fully compliant with the intent of the ruling.
This might the start of a chain of hotels, say five hotels, one for each justice.
Posted by Henry | June 29, 2005 3:28 PM
Posted on June 29, 2005 15:28
I saw the Souter thing yesterday ... pretty funny.
I think something *will* get done on this issue. The outrage crosses party lines, and that's when you have a groundswell. The public-for-private eminent domain's days are numbered (fingers crossed). We still, however, need eminent domain for public safety issues, like better roads, drainage, etc.
Posted by W. | June 29, 2005 6:13 PM
Posted on June 29, 2005 18:13
Maybe I'm just ignorant, but back when we studied the constitution I thought the point of eminent domain was to LIMIT the goverment's taking of private property as opposed to the bad old days of King & Country where the King had the "right" to any and all of your property.
Posted by theotherguy | June 30, 2005 3:22 PM
Posted on June 30, 2005 15:22