It’s time to reign in eminent domain
“Eminent Domain, in the simplest of terms, allows governments to take private land and use it for public good. I have introduced HB 1696 as a way to provide greater transparency and oversight when private land is taken through eminent domain.
This is a common sense measure that will help ensure that the taking of private property through eminent domain authority remain as open and transparent as possible. No person, government, or business should have the right to repurpose private land without scrutiny.
The use of eminent domain is a government function that the General Assembly has given to private utility companies by way of legislation passed in 2004. The 2004 legislation granted eminent domain rights to utility companies, but failed to require the same level of transparency that government entities have to follow.
I first became aware of this discrepancy while studying the Dominion pipeline. What I realized was that the utility companies have gotten all the benefit of eminent domain authority without any of the oversight or public scrutiny.
This is not the first time that citizens have questioned eminent domain. In 2012, Virginia voters went to the polls and overwhelmingly voted to amend the Virginia constitution to require additional protections against eminent domain abuse in the Commonwealth. Public utility companies, however, have largely been excluded from many limitations regarding eminent domain. This is one reason that I filed House Bill 1696 during the 2015 General Assembly Session. “
Bell, Richard. The Daily Progress 29 January 2015.