6.29.2005

Sen. Cornyn joins the fight

Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) is taking the initiative in forcing the Supreme Court to define "public use" as "public use," instead of the current "whatever the government, in its infinite wisdom, wants it to mean" reading.

Cornyn introduced the "Protection of Homes, Small Businesses, and Private Property Act of 2005" (S.1313, text here, release here) today, a measure that would preclude "public use" from being construed to include economic development. Unfortunately, the law would only apply to (1) exercises of eminent domain power by the federal government, and (2) exercises of eminent domain power by state and local governments through the use of federal funds.

I suppose that's about all that can be done at the federal level. What we need now is a huge grassroots push to get state governments to pass similar restrictions on local governments. A good example: Texas Rep. Frank Corte, Jr.'s constitutional amendment (see previous post here).

It's always exciting (and encouraging) when you have people in government who actually seek to limit its power.

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