Perdue signs eminent domain bill, Dems protest ’hypocrisy’

Published 3:08 pm Wednesday, April 5, 2006

ATLANTA — Gov. Sonny Perdue signed into law Tuesday a pair of bills aimed at making it harder for the government to seize private property.

Democrats, meanwhile, accused the governor and his Republican counterparts in the Legislature of election-year backpedaling just one year after pushing their own efforts to make taking private property easier.

One bill sets up a constitutional amendment, which voters must approve or reject in November. That measure would take the power of “eminent domain” away from unelected housing and development authorities, requiring elected officials to make the decision to take property.

The other bill bans the use of eminent domain for economic development or to boost tax revenues. It gives private property owners more negotiating rights when a government wants to take their property and places the burden of proof on the government to show that taking the property is legal.

“It slams the door on the abuse of eminent domain powers in Georgia,” Perdue said, shortly before signing the bills.

Democrats called Perdue’s stance an about-face, saying he and other Republicans aggressively pushed efforts in last year’s Legislature that would have made it easier, not harder, for governments to take private property.

“Gov. Perdue and the Republicans cannot hide from their record of supporting bills that would allow private developers to cut secret deals with government to seize your property,” said Bobby Kahn, chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “In 2005 and 2006, they were trying to pass bills that would have allowed secret back room deals to seize Georgians’ property against their will. Feigning outrage now, while still pushing secrecy bills, won’t fool the public.”

Last year’s Senate Bill 5, pushed by Republicans, would have cleared the way for partnerships between governments and private businesses. Those private entities would have been allowed to submit development proposals in secret and for private property to be condemned for the projects they hatched.

The bill died after a flood of public criticism — including one newspaper column that called it “the most outrageously repugnant piece of legislative claptrap since the Yazoo Land Fraud.”

Perdue said his backing of the eminent domain bills had nothing to do with seeking political cover.

The governor said he focused new attention on Georgia’s existing property rights laws after a controversial, 5-4 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last June that gave local governments more power to seize private property for economic development.

“It was the Kelo decision that brought light to the issue,” Perdue said, referring to Susette Kelo, the lead plaintiff in the Connecticut case. “Kelo did probably scratch the surface, and we looked in and didn’t like what we saw.”

In Georgia, a Stockbridge floral shop has become the focal point for the debate. Stockbridge officials condemned the shop, owned by Regina and Mark Meeks, and plan to replace it with a retail complex anchored by a new city hall.

Mark Meeks said the judge dismissed the condemnation case Monday. Meeks said he does not believe the new legislation would have affected the case because it is not retroactive.

City Manager Ted Strickland said Tuesday that the City Council will meet on Monday and could decide at that time whether to pursue the case.

The council has 30 days to appeal Superior Court Judge Arch McGarity’s ruling.