Eminent Domain Report

This underwater mortgage / eminent domain issue does not appear to be going away any time soon.  Along with eminent domain attorneys Robert Thomas from Hawaii, Casey Pipes from Alabama, and Tom Olsen from New Jersey, I spoke last Friday at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago -- one of the cities apparently considering the plan.  The presentation itself did not focus on the underwater mortgage plan, but many of the questions at the end did.  Indeed, the issue generated more buzz in the room, by far, than any other.

This week, the news is that the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") has ...

A few odds and ends for our readers:

• New Federal Eminent Domain Legislation:  According to the Eminent Domain Law Blog, two Senators have introduced a new bill, Protection of Homes, Small Businesses, and Private Property Act of 2012.  This, again, you may ask?  What ever happened with HR 1433, the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2011?  HR 1433 appears to be dying a slow death, but the new 2012 bill seeks to pick up the slack.  In particular, it is targeted at the same issue:  preventing the federal government from using its eminent domain power and state and local ...

There are a number of redevelopment updates making headlines both in California and nationwide. 

National Redevelopment Update:

We've been following H.R. 1433 -- the "Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2011" --  a bill that would limit the power of eminent domain on a national platform.  We last reported in January that the bill was finally adopted by the House Judiciary Committee, and would next make its way to the House for approval.  According to an article on The Hill by Pete Kasperowicz, House votes to overturn Supreme Court decision on eminent domain, that next step ...

We've been closely tracking H.R. 1433 -- the "Private Property Rights Protection Action of 2011" -- a bill that would limit the power of eminent domain on a national platform.  (See our August and April 2011 posts.)   There hasn't been much action lately, but we finally saw some significant movement. 

According to an article by Lawrence Hurley in the E&E Reporter, "House panel approves bill limiting federal eminent domain power," the House Judiciary Committee finally approved the bill by an overwhelming 23-5 vote. Now, the legislation will move its way to the House for approval.

While the redevelopment battle wages on in California, there's a somewhat similar discussion taking place on Capitol Hill.  We reported back in April about the House Judiciary Committee's consideration of H.R. 1433 -- the "Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2011" -- a bill that would prevent states and municipalities from using eminent domain for economic development purposes (such as redevelopment) on any project for which the agencies are receiving federal funding.  But there has not been much news since.  That may all change today.

According to an Energy & Environment ...

I presented an update on eminent domain/redevelopment issues making their way through the legislature at this week's IRWA Chapter 67 (Orange County) monthly meeting, and I've received a few follow-up requests for more information.  So I decided it was probably worthwhile to put all the information here on the Nossaman blog. 

• Status of California Redevelopment Agencies:  It's now been several weeks since the  attempted Assembly votes, where Governor Brown's attempt to eliminate redevelopment agencies fell one vote short.  The Governor needs the $2.2 billion in ...