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Senate Approves Piccola's Landmark Eminent Domain Reform
HARRISBURG -- Senate
Majority Whip Jeffrey Piccola (R-15) commended the Senate today for unanimously
passing his “Property Rights Protection Act,” also known as Senate Bill 881,
landmark legislation that would make Pennsylvania the first state to
comprehensively rein in eminent domain abuse. Piccola's legislation was spurred
by a Supreme Court decision early this year regarding whether municipalities can
seize an individual's property and transfer it to private developers for
non-governmental use.
“Passage of this legislation
marks a truly significant accomplishment for our Commonwealth. We are on our
way to being the first state in the country to comprehensively reform eminent
domain by taking advantage of an opportunity to restore every citizen's basic
right: the right to keep what you own. After working closely with a number of
key interest groups from around the state, I am pleased that my legislation
truly strikes a reasonable balance by preserving our municipalities' ability to
address real problems, while also giving our property owners much-needed
protections,” said Piccola.
Piccola's legislation is in
reaction to the United States Supreme Court decision this summer, Kelo v. City
of New London, which ruled that governments can seize property to make room for
private development projects that promise to boost the local economy.
Under Senate Bill 881, the
use of eminent domain is prohibited for private economic development and the
definition of “blight” is tightened. According to current law, an area can be
razed if 10 or 15 percent of its buildings have supposed blight. Piccola's
legislation would require a majority of the property in an area to be blighted
in order to use eminent domain.
“For too long, some local
governments have threatened property owners in Pennsylvania with eminent domain
for private profit. My legislation will help end these abuses but not touch
local governments' ability to acquire property to build everything traditionally
considered a public use, such as roads, bridges, schools, and courthouses,”
Piccola said.
Senate Bill 881 continues to
allow cities in Pennsylvania to retain considerable flexibility in blighted
areas, as well as the longstanding ability to condemn abandoned, dangerous, or
severely tax-delinquent properties.
“The idea that a citizen's
property can be taken by the government and turned over to another citizen for
non-governmental use is simply an outrageous proposition and something that was
never intended by our founding fathers. The Property Rights Protection Act
makes certain that home and small business owners in Pennsylvania know that they
can keep what they have worked so hard to own,” said Piccola.
“The Senate's approval of
this legislation protects one of the fundamental rights we have as homeowners.
I urge my colleagues in the House to quickly adopt this measure so that our
Commonwealth can provide safeguards to all Pennsylvania homeowners from
unwarranted government land grabs,” he added.
The Senate also endorsed a
companion measure Senate Bill 897, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader David
Brightbill (R-48), which will update and reform the existing eminent domain
code. Both measures now move to the House of Representatives for consideration.
 
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