Home > News > Opinion: Continue Push for Eminent Domain Reform

By Kenneth Dierschke
Texas Farm Bureau President

This past Memorial Day was one I'll never forget.

It was a weekend full of tension and strife as the Texas House engaged in a very public war over voter identification.

Lost in the turmoil of that struggle was a ton of legislation important to all Texans, including Texas Farm Bureau's number one priority an overhaul of our state's eminent domain laws.

We didn't come out of the 81st session entirely empty handed. A hint of the change we have fought for the past two years was the passage of House Joint Resolution 14. Subject to voter approval, this constitutional amendment is one step toward fixing the eminent domain laws of the Lone Star State. But HJR 14 does little more than ratify a law that the Legislature passed in a 2005 special session which prohibits government acquisition of land for non-public purposes, such as commercial economic development or private use.

That's an important protection and Texas Farm Bureau will work toward its passage by voters in November. We appreciate the intent of this proposal. But everyone should understand that HJR 14 does little to ease the burden property owners continue to endure when a condemning authority goes after their land.

SB 18, the eminent domain bill favored by Texas Farm Bureau and other groups with a high regard for the rights of private property owners, had those protections. This important legislation by Sen. Craig Estes of Wichita Falls provided the additional safeguards good faith offers in eminent domain proceedings, compensation for lost access to property, and the right to repurchase land not used for the condemning purpose  -  that must be part of any true reform.

We were extremely disappointed when the session adjourned without a solution for a difficulty that's expanding in direct proportion with our rapid population growth. The opportunity was ripe for true reform. The governor said he supported SB 18 during the session. The entire Senate voted for passage and a large majority of the Land and Resource Management Committee stood in support of the bill as they readied it for the House floor. The opportunity died, however, in the squabble over voter ID.

Governor Perry could add eminent domain reform to the agenda of the special session he is calling to address reauthorization of the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Insurance. In fact, Texas Farm Bureau called for a special session on May 27, when it became clear that SB 18 would stall in the House.

Since then, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and others have urged the addition of eminent domain reform to the call.

Regardless of the venue  special session or the next regular session Texas Farm Bureau will not surrender in this fight for what we believe. We felt a sense of outrage as reform died on the House floor. That has settled to a steely determination to move this important legislation forward.

Our organization fully supports HJR 14. Adoption by the voters of Texas will be a significant property rights achievement. It's important that it have the full weight of a constitutional amendment. We endorse it without reservation.

Without the added protections offered in SB 18, however, HJR 14 is less than half of the eminent domain package Texans need and deserve.

HJR 14 is a good beginning. Now it's time to finish the job.