Texas legislation tightens restrictions on state and local governments' ability to invoke eminent domain authority to convert private property for public use.
The legislation, Senate Bill 18, requires government entities to make reasonable purchase offers to landowners for their property, allows landowners to buy their land back at the original price 10 years later if it isn't used by then, and adds criteria that agencies must meet before declaring eminent domain over private property.
The Texas Association of Realtors has actively supported eminent domain reform for years. Chairman Dwight Hale explained, "The exercise of eminent domain, while considered a necessary tool of government by some, has been argued to have been expanded and used in improper ways by others. We commend Governor Perry for closing loopholes that have allowed for eminent domain abuses in the past and strengthening property owners' rights for the future."
SOURCE Texas Association of Realtors
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