Amendment Needed

On June 27, a state House Committee refused to even hear a bill calling for a constitutional amendment to prevent government from using eminent domain authority to take our private property for economic development purposes (news story, June 28). Instead of allowing this important bill to be heard, it was sent to the Rules Committee to die without fair consideration.

The legislators who voted to kill this important bill would have us believe that legislation passed earlier during this session ensures that our private property is safe from the long arm of eminent domain; nothing could be further from the truth. That legislation is a mere Band-aid, and it does not provide North Carolinians with the level of protection we deserve.

Legislatures come and go, and laws can easily be changed. That’s why we need a state constitutional amendment to ensure that North Carolinians’ private property is safe from eminent domain abuse. Please contact your legislators and encourage them to support this amendment if it comes before the House.

Kieran Shanahan
Chairman, N.C. Property Rights Coalition (NCPropertyRights.com)
Raleigh