I'm proud to be a Texan. Most people that know me would say I am fanatically proud (ok, embarrassingly proud if we're in public together out of state) of Texas and I can cite trivial facts and trivial historical myths about this State ad nauseum. But there are occasions or instances that make me hang my head in shame for their being associated with my beloved home State.Usually, it's the random idiot playing into a stereotype, but this time it's the State itself.
Here in Texas we have a sales tax, not an income tax. Even our convicted criminals can buy guns here (yeah, they have to wait 5 years, but still...) and yes, you CAN shoot someone trespassing on your property. The thing is, it really isn't your property. I mean, it is your property, you paid for it and all; but if the State decides they want it, they can take it. I'm not kidding.
There has been a movement lately to reform the eminent domain laws in Texas. That link doesn't tell you much, just that a group of cowboys and farmers are protesting something and they got the Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, Todd Staples, to hang out with them for a spell. But if you look at the laws they are protesting, it's really scary. I mean, it's a Berlin Wall and Karl Marx kind of scary.
It really started back in 2005 (which is terrifying in itself; 229 years of this crap?) when the liberal justices of the supreme court outvoted the conservatives and decided that it was perfectly fine for the city of New London, CT to take Mr. Kelo's property, house and all, away from him because the city wanted to build a new retail development. Basically, the verdict was that "Private Property" doesn't exist under federal law if that property can serve the community's "economic development" and it can serve as "public use". Naturally, most of America freaked out about this and a massive wave of State legislation started popping up all over the country. When I say "most of America" I mean 85%-90% of the people, no divisions along party lines, unless you count the communist party, I guess. President Bush issued an executive order that basically stops the federal government from taking private property for "advancement of economic interests", but that doesn't really effect local governments. State law overrides federal law when it comes to this portion of property rights, so each individual state can kind of head it off at the pass if they want to. Texas, apparently, doesn't want to.
In 2009, Texas did pass a pathetic attempt at eminent domain reform as Amendment 11:
"The constitutional amendment to prohibit the taking, damaging, or destroying of private property for public use unless the action is for the ownership, use, and enjoyment of the property by the State, a political subdivision of the State, the public at large, or entities granted the power of eminent domain under law or for the elimination of urban blight on a particular parcel of property, but not for certain economic development or enhancement of tax revenue purposes, and to limit the legislature’s authority to grant the power of eminent domain to an entity."
Try finding a definitive answer as to what "urban Blight is". There isn't one. It's a completely subjective term, which is always helpful to have in your legislation. Heaven forbid a law could actually be enforced or protested against based on something other than an opinion. The kicker is the stuff about "entities granted the power of eminent domain". This can be a gas company that wants to kill your orchard, a city that wants to dig holes in your yard to pump sewage through, and then cover them up with concrete manholes as big as a car, or just a town that wants to pay you about $36,000 so that they can make $600,000 a year dumping trash on your lawn. Oh, and who cares if that land actually makes you money.You know, farming and raising your family on it just isn't good "public use". But hey, your property taxes would probably be a little bit less after that.
I'm sure something will get done soon. Amendment 11 passed in a landslide by Texas voters, but it was also hooked onto some junk about university research funding. I'm sure the fund was great and needed and all of that, but what the heck does it have to do with eminent domain? Typical political BS. You take something that everyone understands to be a good thing and tack on something expensive to go with it so that it passes too. Anyway, I am a little disheartened that this kind of thing happens in Texas of all places. I mean, if this was California, sure, but Texas? I'm sure if I researched a bit more that somewhere someone from the gas company got shot or something, but the deadline on this blog is closing in, so I'll leave it alone and just hope that it happened.
