A window into the exploding power of eminent domain
“Five years ago, when the state of Texas passed new rules governing the use of eminent domain — the power that allows governments and corporations to take private land for public use — it had no idea how many entities had the authority to exercise it. Turns out it’s a lot, and growing fast.
The same legislative overhaul, known as Senate Bill 18, also required any entities that claim that authority to register with the state, or risk losing it. On top of that, a 2015 bill required the whole list to be made public. Now, the results are in: A database released last month by Comptroller Glenn Hegar shows that just over 5,000 local governments and private companies say they were granted the power to use eminent domain sometime over the last two centuries.
And the power is spreading rapidly. Five hundred and two entities have been granted eminent domain authority since 2011, putting this decade on track to beat the 2000s, which saw an all-time high of 902 entities gaining the power to take land.”
That means a greater likelihood that someone could take your land, if it happens to have what the government decides is a higher public use.
DePillis, Lydia and John D Harden. Houston Chronicle 20 October 2016.