Eminent domain reform nearing likely passage
By Barbara Shoun
Contributing Writer
April 4, 2006
JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri House of Representatives is expected to vote soon on legislation to give individuals and churches added protection from eminent domain confiscation of their properties.
House Bill 1944, sponsored by Rep. Steve Hobbs, R-Mexico, and co-sponsored by more than 70 other state representatives, seeks to strike a balance between the need for cities to re-develop themselves and the need for protection for landowners.
One feature of the legislation is a Landowner’s Bill of Rights that will spell out how the process of eminent domain should operate.
“Unless it happens to you, you don’t understand it,” Hobbs said. “With the new law, people are going to know what is going on.”
Hobbs said that a property owner is entitled to just reimbursement when a project or highway is coming his way. House Bill 1944 particularly addresses two aspects of that financial issue: replacement costs and relocation costs.
“It will be more expensive for an entity to look at taking someone’s property,” he said. “A lot of municipalities that were looking at doing this are backing away because of the public outcry.
“Eminent domain doesn’t really make economic development happen, but it sure makes it cheap. There have to be guidelines and procedures.”
The legislation is much needed, agreed Kerry Messer, lobbyist for the Christian Life Commission (CLC) of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC).
“Since the Kelo decision from the U.S. Supreme Court last year, we have seen a momentum that has already begun in which local governments are going after church properties. One common thread in which those properties are being targeted is that they’re not producing tax revenue.”
He cited the example of a property in St. Louis used by The Salvation Army as an alcohol and substance abuse rehabilitation center. The Salvation Army has invested more than $12 million in the property, but the City of St. Louis is taking it away through eminent domain because it isn’t producing tax revenue.
Messer warned, “There will be a greater problem if we don’t fix this issue.”
He said that while Hobbs’ bill will not guarantee that a church won’t be taken if it is in the path of a highway or power line, the law will reform eminent domain to provide more protection of the church’s rights.
Messer suggested that churches look at it as an opportunity to establish their visibility and value in the community.
“To think that any government would look at a church only in dollars and cents may mean that we need to look at how we are doing our ministry,” he said. “We need to make sure we have a reputation as a vital part of the community… with our police officers, our health officers, our school board. Do they know the value of the ministry? This is an opportunity for us to evaluate.”
Hobbs, who attends Rush Hill Community Church in Rush Hill, said the eminent domain question has not been a political issue. His bill is getting good bi-partisan support.
“We got our co-sponsors (on this bill) in about 40 minutes,” he noted. “Other people wanted to sign on, but we ran out of time.”
He expects passage by the legislature and Gov. Matt Blunt is expected to sign it into law.