Proposition 7 – Eminent Domain Amendment

TEXAS – Proposition 7 – HJR 30

Brief background information: (provided by the Texas Legislative Council)

Presently, if a governmental entity takes your property through eminent domain but then doesn’t put it to the prescribed use by 10 years from the date of acquisition, you can repurchase the property for its fair market value at the time the public use is cancelled.

With Proposition 7, you or your heirs could buy back that property at the price the entity originally paid you when it took the property under eminent domain.

This would apply in certain cases where the public use for which the property was acquired by eminent domain no longer exists or a prescribed deadline was not met.

Because property taken under eminent domain is likely to have increased in value, selling it back to the previous owner at below market value (the original price the governmental entity paid) could be considered a grant of public money and would be in violation of current law. Therefore, a constitutional amendment is required to allow for an offer to sell back property at the original acquisition price. Conditions under which this may be done are:

the public use for which the property was acquired by the entity is canceled no actual progress is made toward the public use during a “prescribed” period of time the property is unnecessary for the public use for which it was acquired

Pro and Con – information provided by Jacci Howard Bear of About.com

Why Vote for Prop 7 Allowing the previous owner to take back property taken from them, possibly against their wishes, for the same price they were originally compensated is a matter of fairness.

Proposition 7 would encourage governmental entities to only exercise eminent domain when there is a specific and immediate plan for use of the property. It would help protect property owners from excessive use of eminent domain.

Why Vote Against Prop 7The amendment would unfairly give a financial windfall to property owners who repurchase their property because not only are they not paying fair market value, they aren’t paying for property taxes and maintenance expenses or for any enhancements that may have been done by the governmental entity during their time of ownership.

10th anniverary cancellation for property acquired through eminent domain is rare so the amendment is not really needed.

— Edited for the web by Miguel Martinez