June 24, 2006

A Kelo Executive Order

President Bush has issued an executive order that might be a positive step toward eminent domain reform. Or it might not be:

The political backlash against the Supreme Court's decision Kelo v. City of New London has largely fallen short of the mark, despite massive public outrage against the condemnation of property to promote "economic development" by other private parties. ... Numerous state legislatures are enacting laws that supposedly ban Kelo-style [takings] but actually achieve little or nothing. Today's presidential executive order on eminent domain continues this pattern. On the surface, the order seems to forbid federal agencies from undertaking economic development condemnations. But its wording undercuts this goal. ... Even had President Bush's order been better worded, its impact would have been limited. The vast majority of economic development condemnations are undertaken by state and local governments, not by federal agencies. Nonetheless, it is unfortunate that the Bush administration has chosen to join in the charade of pretending to do something about Kelo while actually doing little or nothing.

And despite what you hear from some quarters, government in Tennessee does abuse its eminent domain authority to take private property from its owners and give it to wealthy private developers. As the Tennessee Center for Policy Research notes in a recent Kelo-related press release:

Currently in Memphis, James Sneed is fighting to keep his 80-year-old home that the Memphis Housing Authority is attempting to condemn as a part of "Uptown Memphis," a mixed-income community to be owned by a private developer. The project, which will cost taxpayers $200 million, will force hundreds of middle class and low-income residents from their homes.

Sixty-six of the 176 properties acquired by the Memphis Housing Authority for Uptown Memphis have been condemned through eminent domain against the will of the owners.

For all my past posts mentioning Kelo, click here.