Nebraska Law Granting TransCanada Eminent Domain Challenged As Unconstitutional
“Three Nebraska landowners are challenging legislation that put power in the hands of the state’s governor to decide whether or not to allow Canadian company TransCanada the authority to use eminent domain against state residents.
The case was heard Friday in a Nebraska court, with Attorney David Domina arguing on behalf of Susan Luebbe, Susan Dunavan and Randy Thompson, who are suing the state over a piece of legislation that stripped the Nebraska Public Service Commission of its approval power, instead handing it over to the governor.
In front of a packed courtroom Friday, Domina argued the piece of legislation, The Major Oil Pipeline Siting Act, or LB1161, is unconstitutional, as the governor — with or without the law — does not have the power to strip the Public Service Commision of its power, a move seen by anti-Keystone advocates in the state as an underhanded trick to effortlessly give approval to Keystone XL.
“People should be outraged by what the legislature did. They threw us under the bus,” Thompson told Prairie Fire Newspaper.”
Marczak. Mint Press News 2 October 2013.