AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation released a report today by Kathleen Hunker on the lack of protection for property owners in regulatory takings law entitled, Private Property Interrupted: A Blueprint for Protecting Texas Property Owners from Regulatory Takings Abuse.
“Local governments essentially have carte blanche authority to halt, alter, and even eliminate, without compensation, an individual’s right to use and profit from their property,” said Kathleen Hunker, policy analyst at the Foundation’s Center for Economic Freedom. “State courts have all but written away what should have been clear protections in the state constitution, and exemptions in the Private Real Property Preservation Act have rendered it largely useless in shielding property owners from regulatory takings, especially by cities. Texan property owners have little legal recourse when confronting a regulatory taking.”
Hunker added: “The Texas Legislature has both the authority and opportunity to fix these shortcomings by eliminating the municipal and de minimis exemptions in the Private Real Property Preservation Act. Private property represents a fundamental right tied to the very promise of personal independence, and it is time for Texas law to see that promise fulfilled.”
To read the full report, visit: http://txpo.li/private-property-interrupted
Kathleen Hunker is a policy analyst in the Center for Economic Freedom at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.