Property Rights Alliance
1920 L Street, NW • Suite 200 • Washington, DC 20036
202-390-6978 – WWW.PROPERTYRIGHTSALLIANCE.ORG
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Scott A. LaGanga
18 OCTOBER 2006 202-390-6978
Seventy-Five Organizations and Policy Leaders
Call for Eminent Domain Reform in Senate
– With only lame duck session remaining, upper chamber must act to protect private property owners –
WASHINGTON — Today, a letter signed by seventy-five organizations and policy leaders from across the country was sent to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) requesting that the Senate advance legislation upon return in November to limit the ability of states and localities to abuse eminent domain. The letter can be viewed at www.propertyrightsalliance.org.
Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced S. 3873, the “Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2006” as the Senate means to address the Kelo v. City of New London, CT court case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2005. As the companion legislation to the bipartisan H.R. 4128 passed in the House last November, S. 3873 similarly seeks to curb eminent domain abuse by withholding federal economic development funds from states and localities that engage in these abusive practices. Since passage, H.R. 4128 has mired in the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA).
The American public continues to fervently oppose this type of government takings. In the last year, over thirty state legislatures heeded the call and enacted legislation aimed at curbing the abuse of eminent domain for private use. Ballot measures will be voted on by residents in more than ten states on Election Day, with Louisiana voters already passing a measure last month. And one national survey after another demonstrates a minimum of eighty-five percent of public support in reforming eminent domain abuse to protect homes, businesses and churches from government’s grasp.
“With politicians constantly entranced by polling data and grassroots activism, it remains shocking that the Senate has remained relatively silent on the issue,” said Scott A. LaGanga, executive director of PRA. “With over a year of waiting, property owners are frustrated with the lack of initiative by our Senators in Congress to protect Americans from government’s ability to snap up a family’s home or church today to make a mansion tomorrow. Action to correct this injustice must be taken during the lame duck session.”
As stated in the letter, “Committed to correcting the United States Supreme Court’s misjudgment in the Kelo v. City of New London, everyday citizens have voiced their support for Congressional action to limit private lands from being seized for private economic development by the government.”
The following organizations signed the letter to Majority Leader Frist (letter can be viewed at Property Rights Alliance website): 60+ Association, Alabama Farmers Federation, Alliance for Worker Freedom, American Association of Small Property Owners, American Conservative Union, American Family Business Institute, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Land Rights Association, American Policy Center, Americans for Limited Government, Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Prosperity-New Jersey, Americans for Tax Reform, Americans for the Preservation of Liberty, American Shareholders Association, Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights, Castle Coalition, Center for Individual Freedom, Citizens for Limited Taxation, Citizens for Property Rights-Vermont, Coalition for Property Rights-Florida, Commonwealth Foundation, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, Eagle Forum, Ethan Allen Institute, FreedomWorks, Frontiers of Freedom, GOP Blogger.com, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, Illinois Policy Institute, Independence Institute, Iowa Wednesday Group, James Madison Institute, League of Private Property Voters, Liberty Coalition, Maryland Taxpayers Alliance, Media Freedom Project, Mississippi Center for Public Policy, Missouri Citizens for Property Rights, Missouri First, Montana Policy Institute, National Grange, National Taxpayers Union, Nevada Policy Research Institute, North Carolina Property Rights Coalition, Ohio Taxpayers Association and OTA Foundation, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Pacific Research Institute, Paragon Foundation, Inc., Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances, Pennsylvania Landowners’ Association, Pious Pagan Publishing, Property Rights Alliance, Property Rights Alliance: Hawaii, PROTEX, Reason Foundation, Republican Liberty Caucus, Rightmarch, Rio Grande Foundation, Ronald Reagan Legacy Project, Small Business Entrepreneurship Council, Small Business Hawaii (SBH), South Carolina Landowners Association, South Carolina Policy Council, Tennessee Center for Policy Research, The Rutherford Institute, The Taxpayers League of Minnesota, Virginia Institute for Public Policy. (In addition, four other policy analysts signed this letter).
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Property Rights Alliance (PRA) stands as an advocacy organization dedicated to the protection of physical and intellectual property rights, domestically and internationally. PRA is a special project of Americans for Tax Reform.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Scott A. LaGanga at (202) 390-6978 or at slaganga@propertyrightsalliance.org .