House Land & Resource Management hearing Monday, March 7

The House Land & Resource Management Committee has scheduled eminent domain bills including HB 138 by Callegari, HB 188 by Sheffield, HB 1062 by Murphy, SB 18 by Estes and HB 364 and HB 365 by Turner for public hearing Monday, March 7 at 1 pm or upon adjournment in E2.012 at the Capitol.  


HB 138 would tighten the definition of "blighted area."  HB 188 would prohibit an entity from condemning property if the taking "is not necessary for a public use."  HB 1062 would change "public purpose" to "public use" in the Texas Education Code and the Texas Local Government Code.  SB 18 would provide comprehensive eminent domain reform.


HB 364 and HB 365 would allow the city of Houston to condemn property (condominiums and multi-family residential, respectively) for the elimination of blight if it is unoccupied for one year.


TLC will support HB 138, HB 188, HB 1062 and SB 18 and oppose HB 364 and HB 365.

Senate bills referred to committee

Several Senate bills affecting property rights were referred to committee yesterday.  SB 18 and duplicate SB 180 by Estes, which would provide comprehensive eminent domain reform (similar to HB 2006 of 2007 and SB 18 of 2009), were referred to the State Affairs Committee.  SB 136 and SB 137 by Wentworth, which would allow counties to regulate land use, were referred to the Intergovernmental Relations Committee.  SB 274 by Uresti, which would allow groundwater conservation districts in the Hill Country to eliminate exempt wells, was referred to the Natural Resources Committee.

The State Affairs Committee will hold a hearing for SB 18 this Thursday, Feb. 3 in the Senate chamber at 9 a.m.

House bills have not yet been referred to committee because Speaker Joe Straus has not announced House committees.

Important Eminent Domain Reform Advances

SB 18 by Estes (House Sponsor Bonnen) has been placed on the House Major State Calendar for tomorrow, Friday, May 22nd. This bill would require condemning entities that do not make a bona fide offer, as determined by a judge, to pay the owner's attorney's fees.

SB 18 contains language from HB 4 by Orr/SB 533 by Duncan, which would require entities with eminent domain authority to notify the State Comptroller’s office of their authority and which provision of law granted them this power or lose this authority and would also allow a landowner to repurchase property acquired through eminent domain from the condemning entity if the public use is cancelled, if no "actual progress" (significant amount of labor performed, materials furnished, etc.) is made on the project 10 years after the acquisition, or if the property becomes unnecessary for the public use for which it was acquired.

SB 18 also includes language from HB 1389 by Davis, which would tighten the definition of "blighted area" for condemnation by a city and require compensation to include relocation costs for a homestead or farm.

Unfortunately SB 18 no longer contains language which would tighten the definition of "public use" for condemnation and require compensation for diminished access to a highway.

Eminent Domain Reform Advances

Today the House passed HB 2685 by Callegari. HB 2685 would require condemning entities to provide a landowner with a copy of the Landowner's Bill of Rights at least 7 days before making a final offer and before or at the same time the "entity first represents in any manner to the landowner that the entity possesses eminent domain authority."

Today the House received SB 18 by Estes, which was passed unanimously by the Senate yesterday. SB 18 and its companion HB 1483 by Pitts are similar to last session's comprehensive eminent domain reform bill, HB 2006, which was vetoed by Governor Perry.

On April 16th, the House Land & Resource Management Committee sent the committee report for HB 417 by Callegari to the House Calendars Committee after reporting the bill favorably on April 9th. HB 417 would tighten the definition of "blighted area" for condemnation by a city and require compensation to include relocation costs for a comparable standard of living.

On April 29th, the House Land & Resource Management Committee reported HJR 14 by Corte favorably as substituted. HJR 14 proposes a constitutional amendment to tighten the definition of public use for a taking to "only if the taking, damage, or destruction is necessary for the possession, occupation, and enjoyment of the property by the public at large or by the State or a political subdivision of the State."

On April 30th, the House Urban Affairs Committee sent the committee report for HB 1389 by committee chair Davis to Calendars after reporting the bill favorably on April 29th. HB 1389 would tighten the definition of "blighted area" for condemnation by a city and require compensation to include relocation costs for a homestead or farm.

Committees Pass Eminent Domain Reform

Today the Senate State Affairs Committee reported SB 18 by Estes favorably as substituted. HB 1483 by Pitts (duplicate of HB 402 by Woolley) is still pending in the House Land & Resource Management Committee. These bills are very similar to the comprehensive eminent domain reform bill, HB 2006, vetoed by Governor Perry last session.

SB 18's committee substitute includes language from HB 4 by Orr and its companion SB 533 by Duncan, which would penalize a condemning entity for not making a bona fide offer by requiring the entity to pay the landowner's related attorney's fees. HB 4 has Governor Perry's support but does not include compensation for diminished access.

Today the House Land & Resource Management Committee reported HJR 14 by Corte favorably as substituted. This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to tighten the definition of public use for a taking to "only if the taking, damage, or destruction is necessary for the possession, occupation, and enjoyment of the property by the public at large or by the State or a political subdivision of the State."

Senate State Affairs Hearing Monday, March 30th

The Senate State Affairs Committee has scheduled SB 18 by Estes and SB 533 by Duncan for public hearing Monday, March 30th at 10 am in the Senate Chamber.

The House Land & Resource Management Committee heard hours of testimony on HB 1483, SB 18's companion, and HB 4, SB 533's companion, and several other eminent domain reform bills and joint resolutions on Wednesday, March 25th.  Lauren registered TLC's support of HB 1483, HB 4, HB 1385, HB 1432, HJR 14, HJR 31, and HJR 65 at the hearing.