News 14 Carolina's Coverage of Eminent Domain Press Conference

News 14 Carolina was among the media outlets that covered last week's press conference. Click here to read their article and watch the video of their television report.

Listen to today's press conference online

Audio of today's press conference is available online by clicking here.

N.C. Property Rights Coalition calls on Senate Leadership to Bring Eminent Domain Amendment Up for a Vote

HB 878 Stuck in Committee that Last Met in 2001

RALEIGH – The N.C. Property Rights Coalition held a press conference today to call on the N.C. Senate leadership to bring the eminent domain amendment (HB 878) to the floor for a vote. Speakers at the press conference included House Minority Leader Paul Stam, Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, Dallas Woodhouse of Americans for Prosperity, Joyce Krawiec of FreedomWorks and Kieran Shanahan, Chairman of the N.C. Property Rights Coalition. Property rights supporters from as far away as Asheville attended the press conference, which was held in front of the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

The bill, which passed the N.C. House by a vote of 104-15 on May 24, would prevent government entities from seizing private property for economic development purposes. On May 29, HB 878 was referred to the N.C. Senate Ways and Means Committee – a committee that has not met since 2001. The committee is chaired by Senator Charlie Dannelly of Mecklenburg County.

“Poll results have shown that 73% of North Carolina voters would support an amendment to the state constitution to limit government’s ability to seize our property[1],” says Kieran Shanahan, Chairman of the N.C. Property Rights Coalition. “The people of North Carolina clearly want an amendment to protect their private property from eminent domain abuse. Unfortunately, rather than taking action, the leadership in the North Carolina Senate chose to bury this amendment in a committee that has not met since 2001. The people of North Carolina deserve better.”

“Today, on behalf of property owners all across North Carolina, I call on the leadership in the North Carolina Senate to bring the eminent domain amendment to the floor for an immediate vote,” Shanahan adds. “Private property rights are one of the fundamental rights of a free society. We don’t need excuses or political games; we need to give the people of North Carolina the right to vote on this amendment, and we need to do it now.”

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[1] John William Pope Civitas Institute, August 2005

Bakst: The Point of an Eminent Domain Amendment

From The Locker Room (by Daren Bakst):

As the Senate continues to ignore the will of the public by not considering the eminent domain constitutional amendment, there finally appears to be some legislators calling for some action.

In this AP article, there is a discussion of the current status of the amendment. A line in the article grabbed my attention: (click here for more...)

Eminent Domain Amendment Backers Seek Action by N.C. Senate

From WRAL.com:

Supporters of a constitutional amendment to further restrict land condemnation by local and state governments in North Carolina want the Senate to consider the legislation before this year's legislative session ends.

For seven weeks, the eminent domain legislation has been parked in a Senate committee that hasn't held a public meeting since 2001, Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger said Tuesday. The House approved the bipartisan bill in May, and the issue would go to voters this fall if the bill is approved by the Senate.

Click here for the rest of the article

Press Conference Thursday

We are hosting a press conference this Thursday to call on the Senate leadership to bring HB 878 (the eminent domain amendment) to the floor for a vote. Details are here.

Eminent Domain Amendment Sent Away to Die?

On May 24, the eminent domain amendment (HB 878) passed the NC House by a vote of 104-15. On May 29, the bill was referred to the N.C. Senate's Ways & Means Committee. It has not been acted on since.

Today, I called the office of Sen. Charlie Dannelly, Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, and asked when the Ways & Means Committee last met. His assistant's answer: 2001.

Annexation passions boil over

From the Asheville Citizen-Times:

RALEIGH — Some 200 people from Asheville to Wilmington who filled an auditorium Wednesday at the General Assembly sent lawmakers a message that while they may have put off a decision on annexation, the issue isn’t going away.

Lawmakers might even have to vote on it.

After the public hearing, Rep. Charles Thomas said he would make another attempt to stop cities from unilaterally annexing surrounding neighborhoods. more...

N&O: Homeowners hiss annexation law

From The News & Observer:

Homeowners from around the state booed at mayors and hissed at suit-wearing honchos Wednesday as they met in Raleigh to talk annexation.

The two sides clashed during a hearing before state lawmakers on a proposal to study North Carolina's controversial annexation law. The law has sparked remarkable vitriol in homeowners' hearts for decades because it allows municipalities to annex their land without the homeowners' permission. more...

Public Seeks Fairer Annexation Rules

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

Residents from across North Carolina asked state legislators last night to modify the state law that allows cities to engage in involuntary annexation.

North Carolina is one of a handful of states that allow involuntary annexation - a practice by which a city acquires new property and new tax-paying residents even if the affected residents do not wish to join the city. more...

Pinehurst Forcibly Annexes Community

[WRAL] - The Village Council voted unanimously Friday to annex the Pinewild community.

Pinewild, a gated golf course community developed in the 1980s, fought the annexation for months. Many of the residents said they believe Pinehurst just wants the tax revenue they would generate. more...

Report: Forced Annexation is Undemocratic and Harmful To Minority Communities

This article, published on the Carolina Journal Online, gives an insight to the harms of forced annexation.

Forced Annexation Song & Dance

This article was published earlier this week in The Locker Room.

Legislative Public Hearing on Annexation Set for June 13

The following meeting notice was distributed via e-mail yesterday:

NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
2007-2008 SESSION

The House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House will hold a Public Hearing

Day & Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Time: 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Location: Legislative Auditorium

Comments: Pursuant to House Rule 29.1, the chair of the House Rules Committee announces a public hearing to consider a Proposed Committee Substitute for HB 86, Study Municipal Annexation. Persons desiring to appear and be heard shall submit their requests by Tuesday, June 12, to Representative Paul Luebke, Room 529, Legislative Office Building. Also, persons who wish to submit a brief written statement of testimony without oral presentation may, by Tuesday, June 12, submit these statements to Representative Paul Luebke.

The views of interested parties will be heard concerning a PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL 86 – AN ACT TO DIRECT THE LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH COMMISSION TO STUDY MUNICIPAL ANNEXATION.

Sponsors: Representatives Thomas and Goforth.

Representative Owens, Chair

I hereby certify this notice was filed by the rules clerk at the following offices at 2:15 o’clock p.m. on June 05, 2007.

X Principal Clerk

X Reading Clerk - House Chamber

Dot Crocker (Rules Clerk)

Eminent Domain in N.C.: The Case for Real Reform

The John Locke Foundation recently released a report on eminent domain in North Carolina.

House bill would authorize an annexation study commission

According to this article from News14.com, a House bill would authorize a study commission to analyze North Carolina's current annexation laws. From the article: "Just when it looked like the more than a dozen bills dealing with involuntary annexation were dead, one still has life."

Dome: All Five Candidates for Governor Support Eminent Domain Amendment

The News & Observer's Under the Dome blog has been posting a series of entries outlining where the various candidates for governor stand on the eminent domain amendment and other key issues. According to Dome, all five probable major candidates for governor support the eminent domain amendment:

DEMOCRATS:
Richard Moore - supports eminent domain amendment
Beverly Perdue - supports eminent domain amendment

REPUBLICANS:
Bill Graham - supports eminent domain amendment
Bob Orr - supports eminent domain amendment
Fred Smith - supports eminent domain amendment

Rocky Mount Telegram Weighs in on Eminent Domain Amendment

Click here to read their May 29 editorial.

Sowell on Eminent Domain.

This post by Mitch Kokai on The Locker Room is worth a read.

Status of Eminent Domain Amendment

The eminent domain amendment (House Bill 878) that passed the N.C. House last week was referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee on May 29. The committee members are listed below.

Chairman: Sen. Charlie S. Dannelly.

Vice Chairman: Sen. David F. Weinstein.

Members:
Sen. Charles W. Albertson
Sen. Austin M. Allran
Sen. Bob Atwater
Sen. James Forrester
Sen. Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr.
Sen. David W. Hoyle
Sen. Neal Hunt
Sen. Clark Jenkins
Sen. John H. Kerr III
Sen. Vernon Malone
Sen. A. B Swindell