|
|
| To establish, until December 31, 2006, a moratorium | 1 |
| on the use of eminent domain by any entity of the | 2 |
| state government or any political subdivision of | 3 |
| the state to take, without the owner's consent, | 4 |
| private property that is in an unblighted area | 5 |
| when the primary purpose for the taking is | 6 |
| economic development that will ultimately result | 7 |
| in ownership of the property being vested in | 8 |
| another private person, to create the Legislative | 9 |
| Task Force to Study Eminent Domain and Its Use and | 10 |
| Application in the State, and to declare an | 11 |
| emergency. | 12 |
| Section 1. As used in Sections 2 to 7 of this act: | 13 |
| (A) "Blighted area" has the same meaning as in section 303.26 | 14 |
| of the Revised Code, but also includes an area in a municipal | 15 |
| corporation. | 16 |
| (B) "Public body" means any entity of the state government, | 17 |
| and any county, municipal corporation, township, commission, | 18 |
| district, authority, or other political subdivision of the state, | 19 |
| that has the power to take private property by eminent domain. | 20 |
| Section 2. (A) Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised | 21 |
| Code to the contrary, until December 31, 2006, no public body | 22 |
| shall use eminent domain to take, without the consent of the | 23 |
| owner, private property that is not within a blighted area, as | 24 |
| determined by the public body, when the primary purpose for the | 25 |
| taking is economic development that will ultimately result in | 26 |
| ownership of that property being vested in another private person. | 27 |
| (B)(1) Until December 31, 2006, if any public body uses | 28 |
| eminent domain to take, without the consent of the owner, private | 29 |
| property that is not within a blighted area, as determined by the | 30 |
| public body, when the primary purpose for the taking is economic | 31 |
| development that will ultimately result in ownership of that | 32 |
| property being vested in another private person, each of the | 33 |
| following shall apply: | 34 |
| (a) The Ohio Public Works Commission shall not award or | 35 |
| distribute to the public body any funding under a capital | 36 |
| improvement program created under Chapter 164. of the Revised | 37 |
| Code. | 38 |
| (b) The Department of Development shall not award or | 39 |
| distribute to the public body any funding under a shovel ready | 40 |
| sites program created under section 122.083 of the Revised Code. | 41 |
| (c) The public body shall not receive any funding designated | 42 |
| for capital purposes in any act of the General Assembly. | 43 |
| (2) Until December 31, 2006, any public body seeking to | 44 |
| obtain funds described in division (B)(1) of this section, shall | 45 |
| certify in writing to the grantor of the funds that the public | 46 |
| body has not used its eminent domain authority on or after the | 47 |
| effective date of this act to take private property in violation | 48 |
| of the moratorium established by this act. | 49 |
| (C) Divisions (A) and (B) of this section do not apply to the | 50 |
| use of eminent domain for the taking of private property to be | 51 |
| used as follows: | 52 |
| (1) In the construction, maintenance, or repair of streets, | 53 |
| roads, or walkways, paths, or other ways open to the public's use, | 54 |
| including rights of way immediately adjacent to those public ways, | 55 |
| including, but not limited to, such use pursuant to authority | 56 |
| granted under Title LV of the Revised Code; | 57 |
| (2) For a public utility purpose; | 58 |
| (3) By a common carrier; | 59 |
| (4) For parks or recreation areas open to the public; | 60 |
| (5) In the construction, maintenance, or repair of buildings | 61 |
| and grounds used for governmental purposes. | 62 |
| Section 3. (A) There is hereby created the Legislative Task | 63 |
| Force to Study Eminent Domain and Its Use and Application in the | 64 |
| State. The Task Force shall consist of the following twenty-five | 65 |
| members: | 66 |
| (1) Three members of the House of Representatives, with two | 67 |
| members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives | 68 |
| and one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of | 69 |
| Representatives. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall | 70 |
| designate one of the members the Speaker appoints to serve as | 71 |
| co-chairperson of the Task Force. | 72 |
| (2) Three members of the Senate, with two members appointed | 73 |
| by the President of the Senate and one member appointed by the | 74 |
| Minority Leader of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall | 75 |
| designate one of the members the President appoints to serve as | 76 |
| co-chairperson of the Task Force. | 77 |
| (3) One member representing the home building industry in the | 78 |
| state, appointed jointly by the Speaker of the House of | 79 |
| Representatives and the President of the Senate; | 80 |
| (4) One member who shall be a statewide advocate on the | 81 |
| issues raised in Kelo v. City of New London (2005), 125 S. Ct. | 82 |
| 2655, insofar as they affect eminent domain, appointed jointly by | 83 |
| the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of | 84 |
| the Senate; | 85 |
| (5) One member representing the agricultural industry in the | 86 |
| state, appointed jointly by the Speaker of the House of | 87 |
| Representatives and the President of the Senate; | 88 |
| (6) One member representing the commercial real estate | 89 |
| industry in the state, appointed jointly by the Speaker of the | 90 |
| House of Representatives and the President of the Senate; | 91 |
| (7) One member representing licensed realtors in the state, | 92 |
| appointed jointly by the Speaker of the House of Representatives | 93 |
| and the President of the Senate; | 94 |
| (8) One member representing the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys | 95 |
| Association or the Ohio Association of Probate Judges, appointed | 96 |
| jointly by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the | 97 |
| President of the Senate; | 98 |
| (9) One member who shall be an attorney who is knowledgeable | 99 |
| on the issues confronting the Task Force and who represents | 100 |
| persons who own property and reside within Ohio, appointed jointly | 101 |
| by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President | 102 |
| of the Senate; | 103 |
| (10) One member knowledgeable on the issues confronting the | 104 |
| Task Force who represents persons who own property and reside | 105 |
| within Ohio, appointed jointly by the Speaker of the House of | 106 |
| Representatives and the President of the Senate; | 107 |
| (11) One member representing the planning industry in the | 108 |
| state, one member representing an Ohio labor organization, one | 109 |
| member representing a statewide historic preservation organization | 110 |
| that works within commercial districts, one member representing | 111 |
| municipal corporations, one member representing counties, and one | 112 |
| member representing townships, each appointed by the Governor; | 113 |
| (12) The Director of Development or the Director's designee; | 114 |
| (13) The Director of Transportation or the Director's | 115 |
| designee; | 116 |
| (14) Two members who shall be attorneys with expertise in | 117 |
| eminent domain issues, each appointed by the Attorney General; | 118 |
| (15) One member representing small businesses, appointed | 119 |
| jointly by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the | 120 |
| President of the Senate. | 121 |
| (B) Appointments to the Task Force shall be made not later | 122 |
| than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any | 123 |
| vacancy in the membership of the Task Force shall be filled in the | 124 |
| same manner as the original appointment. Members of the Task Force | 125 |
| shall serve without compensation. | 126 |
| (C)(1) The Task Force shall study each of the following: | 127 |
| (a) The use of eminent domain and its impact on the state; | 128 |
| (b) How the decision of the United States Supreme Court in | 129 |
| Kelo v. City of New London (2005), 125 S. Ct. 2655, affects state | 130 |
| law governing the use of eminent domain in the state; | 131 |
| (c) The overall impact of state laws governing the use of | 132 |
| eminent domain on economic development, residents, and local | 133 |
| governments in Ohio. | 134 |
| (2) The Task Force shall prepare and submit to the General | 135 |
| Assembly by not later than April 1, 2006, a report that shall | 136 |
| include the findings of its study and recommendations concerning | 137 |
| the use of eminent domain and its impact on the state, and by not | 138 |
| later than August 1, 2006, a report that shall include findings | 139 |
| and recommendations regarding the updating of state law governing | 140 |
| eminent domain. On submission of the report due not later than | 141 |
| August 1, 2006, the Task Force shall cease to exist. | 142 |
| (D) The Legislative Service Commission shall provide any | 143 |
| technical, professional, and clerical employees that are necessary | 144 |
| for the Task Force to perform its duties. | 145 |
| (E) All meetings of the Task Force are declared to be public | 146 |
| meetings open to the public at all times. A member of the Task | 147 |
| Force shall be present in person at a meeting that is open to the | 148 |
| public in order to be considered present or to vote at the meeting | 149 |
| and for the purposes of determining whether a quorum is present. | 150 |
| The Task Force shall promptly prepare and maintain the minutes of | 151 |
| its meetings, which shall be public records under section 149.43 | 152 |
| of the Revised Code. The Task Force shall give reasonable notice | 153 |
| of its meetings so that any person may determine the time and | 154 |
| place of all scheduled meetings. The Task Force shall not hold a | 155 |
| meeting unless it gives at least twenty-four hours advance | 156 |
| notification to the news media organizations that have requested | 157 |
| such notification. | 158 |
| Section 4. The General Assembly hereby makes the following | 159 |
| statements of findings and intent: | 160 |
| (A) On June 23, 2005, the United States Supreme Court | 161 |
| rendered its decision in Kelo v. City of New London (2005), 125 S. | 162 |
| Ct. 2655, which allows the taking of private property that is not | 163 |
| within a blighted area by eminent domain for the purpose of | 164 |
| economic development even when the ultimate result of the taking | 165 |
| is ownership of the property being vested in another private | 166 |
| person. As a result of this decision, the General Assembly | 167 |
| believes the interpretation and use of the state's eminent domain | 168 |
| law could be expanded to allow the taking of private property that | 169 |
| is not within a blighted area, ultimately resulting in ownership | 170 |
| of that property being vested in another private person in | 171 |
| violation of Sections 1 and 19 of Article I, Ohio Constitution, | 172 |
| which protect the rights of Ohio citizens to maintain property as | 173 |
| inviolate, subservient only to the public welfare. Thus, the | 174 |
| General Assembly finds it is necessary to enact a moratorium on | 175 |
| any takings of this nature by any public body until further | 176 |
| legislative remedies may be considered. | 177 |
| (B) The General Assembly finds that it is a matter of | 178 |
| statewide concern to enact the moratorium. The moratorium is | 179 |
| necessary to protect the general welfare and the rights of | 180 |
| citizens under Sections 1 and 19 of Article I, Ohio Constitution, | 181 |
| and to ensure that these rights are not violated due to the Kelo | 182 |
| decision. In enacting this provision, the General Assembly wishes | 183 |
| to ensure uniformity throughout the state. | 184 |
| Section 5. Section 2 of this act applies only to taking | 185 |
| actions initiated on or after the effective date of this act. As | 186 |
| used in this section, "initiated" means the adoption of a | 187 |
| resolution or ordinance of necessity by the public body or filing | 188 |
| of a court action, but excludes taking actions for which a | 189 |
| resolution or ordinance of necessity or other official action of a | 190 |
| public body has been taken and public funds have been expended in | 191 |
| connection with that taking action prior to the effective date of | 192 |
| this act. | 193 |
| Section 6. If any item of law that constitutes the whole or | 194 |
| part of an uncodified section of law contained in this act, or if | 195 |
| any application of any item of law that constitutes the whole or | 196 |
| part of an uncodified section of law contained in this act, is | 197 |
| held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other items of law or | 198 |
| applications of items of law that can be given effect without the | 199 |
| invalid item of law or application. To this end, the items of law | 200 |
| of which the uncodified sections contained in this act are | 201 |
| composed, and their applications, are independent and severable. | 202 |
| Section 7. Nothing in this act shall be construed to imply | 203 |
| that any public body with eminent domain authority has prior to | 204 |
| the enactment of this act abused that authority or engaged in any | 205 |
| wrongdoing in the exercise of its eminent domain authority | 206 |
| conferred by statute or the Ohio Constitution. | 207 |
| Section 8. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency | 208 |
| measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public | 209 |
| peace, health, and safety. The reason for the necessity is that | 210 |
| the United States Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New | 211 |
| London (2005), 125 S. Ct. 2655, could allow the taking of private | 212 |
| property that is not within a blighted area, ultimately resulting | 213 |
| in ownership of that property being vested in another private | 214 |
| person in violation of Sections 1 and 19 of Article I, Ohio | 215 |
| Constitution, and, as a result, warrants a moratorium on any | 216 |
| takings of this type until further legislative remedies may be | 217 |
| considered. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect. | 218 |