Bipartisan bill designed to update eminent domain law
“A bill that would strengthen outdated eminent domain laws in the face of a proposed freight train line with a route through Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties has made its way out of the Indiana House of Representatives and into the Senate.
The measure, House Bill 1260, cleared the House of Representatives with a 95-0 vote and is expected to go before a Senate committee Monday.
The state’s eminent domain laws regarding railroads date back to 1888, said Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, who authored the bill and is chair of the Roads and Transportation Committee. The bill is co-authored in the house by Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron; Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster; and Rep. Jim Pressel, R-LaPorte.
“They didn’t really allow a lot of protection for our citizens,” said Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, who is sponsoring the bill with Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, in the Senate.”
Lavalley, Amy. Chicago Post Tribune 27 January 2017.