By JANE HOUIN
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland last week gave Ohio farmers with urban and suburban developments knocking on their doors reason to celebrate when he signed Ohio Senate Bill 7 into law.

Sponsored by Sen. Timothy Grendell, SB 7 draws upon the recommendations of the Eminent Domain Task Force to address restrictions on the use of eminent domain for private economic development purposes in the wake of recent court decisions.

“The law favors the government. The process favors the government. And that’s just not right,” said Sen. Timothy Grendell, R-Chesterland, who introduced SB 7. He said that over the years, government takings of private property have strayed from their original purpose of benefiting the public.

The bill provides new definitions of blight, standardizes provisions for public notice and exchange of information on land values and established protocols for court awards.

“Eminent domain reform is an enormously important issue for the farmers and agricultural interests of Ohio,” said Rocky Black, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) senior director of
policy and political affairs.

“If farms and private property are not protected from takeover by the highest possible legal standards, we have failed to protect the most basic of American rights.”

The bill will provide greater transparency and accountability for public agencies that have the right of eminent domain, striking a balance between strong support of property rights advocates and the need for government to acquire private property for legitimate public use.

Government normally uses eminent domain authority to eliminate blighted property or to build highways, schools or other public use facilities. The ruling in last year’s Supreme Court Case Kelo v. New London expanded the meaning of public use that included taking land for private development.

Throughout the legislative session, OFBF members and officials have maintained a strong visual presence throughout the hearings, sporting large red sign buttons reading “Stop taking our property,” the group’s eminent domain slogan.

“By our presence, we wanted to emphasize to the committee the importance of passing these proposals in their current form,” said Doug Foxx, OFBF director of political education. “The abuse of eminent domain has long been a concern of Ohio farmers and we are glad to now see widespread public support to move this issue forward.”

Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Bob Gibbs, House Bill 5, contributed to SB 7.

This farm news was published in the July 18, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.