06-23-2005, 04:25 PM
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#55 (permalink)
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Submit to me, you know you want to
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this was our Attorney General's response to the ruling.
Quote:
Will Ruling Affect Ga. Homeowners?
Reported By: Jennifer Leslie
Web Editor: Manav Tanneeru
Last Modified: 6/23/2005 6:52:33 PM
Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker said Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on private property rights will not affect state homeowners because of protections in the state constitution.
Baker, in a statement released to media, said the Georgia Constitution and more than 100 years of state court precedent prevent condemnation for private purposes.
"Fortunately for Georgians, our state constitution and state judiciary have consistently held that condemnation for private purposes is not acceptable under state law, a position that will be unaffected by today’s federal court ruling," Baker wrote.
“Georgia will remain one of the few states in the nation where a homeowner will not lose the family home or farm to make way for a private development boondoggle," the statement read.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue attacked the ruling that expands the power of states, counties and cities to seize people's homes and businesses through a practice known as eminent domain.
“Being legal doesn't make it right,” Perdue said. “"I've always been a strict constructionist when it came to eminent domain. It's an awesome power that ought to be used very, very carefully."
The Supreme Court's ruling deals with a case in Connecticut where the city of New London planned to demolish homes in a working class neighborhood to make way for a hotel and health club.
While state and local governments have long been able to take private land for public purposes --such as building schools and roads -- this ruling allows governments to buy land at market value and hand it over to a private developer without the original owner's consent.
"For city officials, the last thing they want to do is condemn someone's house. But it can be a tool to protect neighborhoods in dealing with absentee owners,” said Amy Henderson, a public information manager with the Georgia Municipal Association. “This ruling affirms that cities have the power to use condemnation in a careful way with the community in mind.”
"I'm as surprised as most people are on the street,” said State Sen. Dan Moody (R-Alpharetta), who co-sponsored a bill introduced this year that would prohibit governments from seizing private property as a way to increase the tax base or for economic development.
He expects that bill and perhaps other similar ones to take priority when the legislature meets again next year.
"The ruling we saw has most people disappointed, and I think it's up to us to find ways to strengthen those property rights rules rather than weaken them,” Moody said.
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http://www.11alive.com/news/news_art...?storyid=65141
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