AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation released a report today by Vice President of Research Bill Peacock on the constitutional right that just and adequate compensation be paid for any property taken under the government’s “inherent sovereign power of eminent domain,” including cases in which the government has extended the power of eminent domain to a private company.
“By extending the power of eminent domain to private entities, the government has introduced greater uncertainty for landowners in the eminent domain process when it comes to just and adequate compensation,” said Peacock. “It is incumbent upon the government to ensure that protections are in place which ensure that property owners are fully compensated for any property taken by a private condemnor. Failure to do so will undermine one of the most sacred of American rights under both the United States and Texas constitutions and will undoubtedly lead to additional attempts by private entities with eminent domain authority to take property without paying compensation.
“The government’s charge to defend private property means more than shielding citizens from external threats or even adjudicating disputes between neighbors; it also means checking the government’s own inclination to act against an individual’s property rights. Democratic government is not exempt from the temptation to circumvent the boundaries of private property rights for the sake of expediency.”
To read the full report, visit: http://txpo.li/protecting-property-rights
Bill Peacock is the vice president of research & planning and the director of 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, Texas.