fyngyrz's Journal: Montana surprises us again, this time on Eminent Domain

Recently, Montana legislators made news when they passed legislation outlawing Real-ID, calling it a threat to privacy and liberty. Now, legislation making the taking of property by eminent domain for the purposes of increasing tax revenues illegal has been passed and signed into law by Montana's governor. For more on why this is a serious issue, check out the Supreme Court's "Kelo" decision, named after a Connecticut woman who (unsuccessfully) fought to keep her home from city plans to arbitrarily take it and subsequently turn it over to private developers with the objective of collecting higher tax revenues from the property.

Montana has a 2% unemployment rate at present, and maintains a balanced budget, something the feds might want to give some consideration to. I have to say that although I am typically very cynical about government, and although Montana has made some very serious mis-steps in terms of liberties in the last few decades, the state seems more interested in doing the right thing than the wrong thing at this point in time, and I am feeling very pleased with my representatives right now as a long-time resident.

Connecticut

[Aoverify]

They still haven't passed any protection against abuses of eminent domain. Towns and cities in CT can still force you out of your home to give the property to private developers and build condos, shopping malls, or other tax revenue producing developments.

Re:

[The Spoonman]

And, while I'm too lazy to look it up, didn't I read that whole deal failed to go down? The people were forced from their homes, eminent domain was given far too broad a set of powers and in the end the whole deal fell through. The people who were going to build businesses in the areas backed out of the deal, and the only thing that's being built on the property is the Maritime Museum they'd planned...which was non-profit and thus didn't bring in tax revenue.

Weather

[Harmonious Botch]

Ah, you lucky bastards! You have a state with no economic eminent domain, no deficit, and no daytime speed limit. Please do post if global warming ever makes the climate anything like southern California's.
-HB

Re:

[fyngyrz]

...and no daytime speed limit.

No, the feds threatened to pull Montana's highway funding — tried and true criminal bribery — and Montana's legislators caved in. We now have 70 MPH on most highways, 75 MPH on the interstates except when they go near a town or city, in which case it drops to 65 MPH, and 55 MPH on most secondary roads. So the golden age of driving in Montana is gone, another victim of federal coercion.