Eminent Domain Abuse

During the last session of the Kansas legislature, we nearly got a state constitutional amendment through the house that would have ended the abuse of eminent domain in Kansas once and for all. It was a well written amendment that covered all the loopholes. You can look up the details on the state's website. Look for HCR 5025.

A 2/3 vote was required and we missed by 3 votes. Most of the Johnson County delegation voted against it, most particularly the incumbent for the 17th district. She did ultimately vote for a legislative version (S 323). It is ineffective.

Firstly it does not take effect for a year, giving the property thieves a full year to take property with no problem.

Secondly, it provided an override for the legislature to give permission to take property for private use.

Thirdly, and worst of all, it is really easy to amend. A constitutional amendment would need to go to the voters to undo. Already the opponents of private property protection are talking about amendments to the act to provide for more exceptions that would not need legislative approval. Even the dreaded word, BLIGHT, has been mentioned.

Blight is a terrible sounding word with no definition. If they allow cities and counties to take property by calling it blighted, we have lost the war. Around the nation, houses have been labeled as blighted because they have a 1 car garage in a 2 car garage neighborhood, because it is painted an unusual color, because the grass has bald spots and every other imaged issue.

They will probably have it amended to nothingness before it takes effect. The only way to stop that is to ensure that the state representative candidate you vote for understands the importance of property rights. Libertarians understand this by nature. It is in our political genes.