EHRHART PROPOSES BILL TO TAKE ON EMINENT DOMAIN

Monday, February 1, 2005 ~ Marietta Daily Journal

One of the most powerful members of the General Assembly, Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) is sponsoring a proposed state constitutional amendment to prohibit use of eminent domain powers for economic development or increasing tax revenues.

The proposal, House Resolution 87, calls for amending the constitution to specify that eminent domain - the taking of private property for public use - may be exercised only by the state and the counties and municipalities of the state and may not be exercised by any government authority, government created entity or corporation, private entity or person.

It would do the exact opposite of SB 5 that died in the state Senate, the result of heavy opposition from the public, and, more importantly, HR 87 would preempt any such legislation in the future.

Coincidentally, the U.S. Supreme Court today is hearing arguments on the same issue in a Connecticut case, Kelo versus City of New London.

HR 87 specifies that eminent domain power is reserved for purposes of public roads and streets, public transportation, railways, utilities, government-owned and -used buildings and public facilities for the general use of government or its citizens. It would allow the state, counties and municipalities to exercise eminent domain with the intent to transfer ownership of property to a public authority, other government entity or publicly regulated utility.

It would prohibit use of eminent domain for purposes of increasing the tax revenue of a government, including the transfer of condemned land to a private entity for the purposes of economic development.

An intriguing change proposed by HR 87 would remove the power of eminent domain from the Georgia Board of Regents.

Ehrhart joined with several other House members including Rep. Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta) in introducing HR 87. It happens that Ehrhart is chairman of the very powerful Rules Committee that decides which bills make it to the floor for a vote.

Even so, the measure is not necessarily a slam dunk.

For starters, it takes a two-thirds majority in both House and Senate for adoption of the resolution. Then it would go before the voters of Georgia in a referendum.

I plan to work very hard on the passage of this resolution, said Ehrhart. Candidly, it is a tough sell and will require a great deal of citizen support.

Judging from the overwhelming opposition to SB 5, the outlook for citizen support for HR 87 should be favorable. The Senate bill was withdrawn in the face of public opposition.

Ehrhart should have considerable political capital if he pushes for passage of HR 87. Elected in 1988, he is longest-serving Republican in the state House, and with his Rules Committee chairmanship, he is near the pinnacle of power in the House.

Ehrhart comes across as confident of winning.

I am patient, having been in the minority for so many years, and plan to settle in for the long but eventually successful fight, he said.

If it depends on citizen support, HR 87 will succeed.

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