Several legislators and Attorney General Robert McDonnell are working on bills to make Virginia the latest state to limit local governments’ property-taking ability.
The legislation comes in response to a 2005 Supreme Court ruling that said localities could use their eminent domain powers to seize property and use the land for economic development purposes.
Disagreements over technical legal issues prevented similar bills from passing last year, but McDonnell is confident an agreement will be reached during this General Assembly session.
“Liberals and conservatives were outraged by that decision,” McDonnell said. “That is not what the founders intended. The Supreme Court said the local governments could do it, but we can have a statute in Virginia that says they cannot.”
Localities still could take property for public projects such as roads, hospitals and airports under the bills.
