Andy made sure I saw this article, which allows me to do something rare - praise the state lege. It looks like there's bi-partisan support for a bill to curb eminent domain seizures by local governments:
Efforts to curtail government's power to forcibly buy private land gained momentum and key political allies last week as lawmakers convened for the 2004 General Assembly.
Several legislative leaders said they will support changes to eminent-domain law this session, and two bills are being readied for introduction.
Both proposals would sharply limit local governments' ability to condemn property in the name of urban renewal and transfer it to private developers. The issue has already caught the attention of Gov. Bill Owens.
It's surprising that it has that much support. Eminent domain seizures are almost universally supported by local government types. That's why the proposed legislation would be unique in the nation. I'll wait and see if anything meaningful is passed by the state. Here's the opposing opinion:
The legislative debate over eminent-domain change likely will be emotional and certainly will meet with fierce opposition from the Colorado Municipal League, a statewide group representing 264 local governments.
"The committee rooms are going to be packed with people," said Sam Mamet, the league's associate director. "There's going to be a lot of passion and emotion involved with this issue because it affects people directly."
Mamet said he will fight tenaciously to get legislators to listen to the other side of the story: that local governments need to use the ability to condemn and buy land to reverse urban decline.
"The flip side is this is all about cities maintaining their economic vitality," Mamet said. "It's all about redeveloping and developing areas of the cities that need help."
What often motivates the local governments is the desire to increase their tax base. There have been several high profile cases in Colorado and other states in which viable small businesses are simply bulldozed to make way for bigger enterprises.