Alabama Brings Back Eminent Domain for Private Gain
“This month, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley signed into law a bill that allows local officials to condemn private property and turn it over to private developers.
Alabama’s statutes had contained some of the best protections in the nation for property owners; officials couldn’t seize property for private development unless it was a true threat to human health and safety.
Welcome back to the bad old days.
Advertised as a tool to attract industry to Alabama, the new law (the Major 21st Century Manufacturing Zone Act) expands tax subsidies for companies that open a manufacturing facility of at least 250 acres. It also allows municipal officials to seize property for “private uses and purposes imbued with a public interest” like auto factories, biomedical facilities, and pharmaceutical plants.”
Ross, John. Reason.com 31 March 2013.