The way that House Representative Tom Reed sees it, the state’s decision to ban fracking has deprived some Southern Tier property owners from realizing the full potential of their land. And he’s said that the state should compensate those landowners for the money they could have made by leasing their land to drilling companies.
Now, Reed has introduced legislation that would provide these landowners “an option for compensation” when governments make decisions “adversely affecting the property’s value,” according to a press release and bill summary provided by Reed’s office.
“Far too often private property owners are left on the sidelines while local, state, and federal governments make decisions for them on what they can and cannot do with their property,” Reed said in a press release. “This is not right; it is not fair; and it is not the American way. These actions by government entities often leave our neighbors and friends with property that is worth much less, hurting their families and leaving them little choice but to accept the lower value.”
Reed ties the bill to the Fifth Amendment, which deals largely with due process in criminal prosecutions. But the amendment also includes a clause that says that private property can’t be taken for public use without compensation. That clause provides a crucial protection for property owners in eminent domain proceedings.
But the idea that the state’s fracking ban is somehow equal to taking private property for public use feels like a leap. Governments have legally placed restrictions on land use for a long time; it’s called zoning. Those restrictions keep porn shops away from schools and protect farmers’ livelihood when residential development sprawls out to their borders. And historically, governments have been able to regulate and prohibit activities on private land if they’re found to be in conflict with the public good.
A copy of Reed’s bill is below.
Reed Defense of Property Rights Act
This article appears in Jan 21-27, 2015.
The government won’t allow me to store radioactive waste in my backyard. If only I could, I’d be able to make millions in storage fees charged to utility companies looking to get rid of used reactor rods.
Representative Reed, where’s my government handout?
That “… the state’s fracking ban is somehow equal to taking private property for public use feels like a leap.” doesn’t quite cover the absolute absurdity and pandering to the fossil fuel that House Representative Tom Reed proposal suggests.
Not only is this craven bill a bad idea, this kind of attitude is going to make it very difficult to address Climate Change if we don’t find a way to get private property rights into the mix.
Much of our land in New York State (and around the world) is now in the hands of private property owners and businesses. This land is our environment, which is to say our life support system, and planning Climate Change will necessarily include how we deal with private property rights.
Continuing to hold that you can and should do whatever you want with your land, and the state should enforce your right to do whatever you want, regardless of its impact on our environment and climate, is going to make addressing Climate Change impossible.
Climate Change is going to change everything.
Our leaders must view our future through the lens of Climate Change, not through the lens of the fossil fuel industry.
More on Fracking in our area: http://rochesterenvironment.com/Fracking%2…
That “… the state’s fracking ban is somehow equal to taking private property for public use feels like a leap.” doesn’t quite cover the absolute absurdity and pandering to the fossil fuel that House Representative Tom Reed proposal suggests.
Not only is this craven bill a bad idea, this kind of attitude is going to make it very difficult to address Climate Change if we don’t find a way to get private property rights into the mix. Much of our land in New York State (and around the world) is now in the hands of private property owners and businesses.
This land is our environment, which is to say our life support system, and planning Climate Change will necessarily include how we deal with private property rights. Continuing to hold that you can and should do whatever you want with your land, and the state should enforce your right to do whatever you want, regardless of its impact on our environment and climate, is going to make addressing Climate Change impossible.
Climate Change is going to change everything. Our leaders must view our future through the lens of Climate Change, not through the lens of the fossil fuel industry.
More on Fracking in our area: http://rochesterenvironment.com/Fracking%2…
The fifth amendment of our Constitution states “..nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”. This has been extended to prohibit the regulatory taking of land by depriving you the USE of your private property. Tom Reed has a good point here.