Property Rights
A Mesa, Arizona businessman learned about eminent domain abuse the hard way. When Bailey said he didn’t want to sell his family-owned brake shop, the city tried to use its power of eminent domain to take his property and give it to a local developer in the name of economic development. Bailey won in court, and Arizona passed Proposition 207 to help protect private property from such abuse. The Goldwater Institute developed Proposition 207 and is monitoring its success, and is committed to ensuring that government respects private property.
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Prop. 207 right for property owners
Posted on October 16, 2006 | Type: Op-Ed | Author: Thomas C. PattersonProposition 207, the initiative to protect property rights, is a great example of citizens using the initiative process exactly the way it was intended. This is the legitimate response of citizens attempting to protect themselves from local governments aggressively encroaching on their property rights, when other attempts to obtain relief have failed.
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Reform needed to restore private landowners' protection
Posted on September 29, 2006 | Type: Op-Ed | Author: Benjamin BarrIn the past year, people around the country have become quite concerned about private property rights. That's understandable. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Kelo v. City of New London gave governments the green light to seize homes, lands, or businesses through eminent domain if they could conjure up some better use for the space. That's one way to enhance curb appeal, Soviet style.
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Kicked to the Curb
Posted on June 16, 2006 | Type: Blog | Author: Benjamin BarrGovernor's recent veto disappoints landowners
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Playing the Takings Game: How Government Regulates Away Property Rights
Posted on June 13, 2006 | Type: Policy Report | Author: Timothy SandefurThe U.S. and Arizona constitutions require government to compensate property owners whenever it seizes their land. However, government often passes laws and regulations that depress property values or completely prevent the use of private property, essentially taking the property without explicitly taking title to it. In these instances, loopholes in judicial interpretation of the constitution often allow government to escape having to compensate property owners. These "regulatory takings" became so severe in Oregon that, in 2004, voters overwhelmingly approved a law called Measure 37, which required the government to pay people whenever it conscripted their land for public purposes, even if it did not seize the title outright. This law followed an earlier attempt, called Measure 7, which, despite overwhelming popular approval, was deemed unconstitutional in 2002 by the Oregon Supreme Court. But in February 2006, the court upheld Measure 37, leading many defenders of private property rights to hope that similar reform might be possible to protect home and business owners in other states.
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Doughnut Holes
Posted on May 10, 2006 | Type: BlogAppellate court opinion on doughnut shop signage contradicts U.S. Supreme Court
