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INDR works with the Orange Coalition to change Eminent Domain laws in U S State of Arizona PDF Print E-mail

INDR often deals with the policies of international financial intermediareis (IFIs) but an extensive laws define the right of the state and its subjurisdictions at the national level.  This note mentions an ongoing efforts to change on such system in the state of Arizona in the United States of America.

Amendments to the United States of America Constitution (Article 5 and Article 14 of the Bill of Rights) require the government give “just compensation” and due process when property is taken.  Federal laws, most notably the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Act provides other protections but only when a project has federal funding.  The US Constitution leaves the issue of what is just compensation ambiguous and subject to a juridical interpretation. States can and do set higher standards, as a gesture of goodwill, to avoid harming property owners. As a result, there is considerable state-to-state variation in the rights of the displaced. ....INDR President Ted Downing, a former State Legislator, did an analysis of Arizona eminent domain laws and found them surprisingly weak and antiquated. He found that they were based on flawed economics that leave a property owner in the way of development impoverished and disadvantaged. He discovered that the expansion of the Interstate Highway System under President Eisenhower, airport expansions,  and subsequent urban development left impoverished peoples in their wake.
 
Downing ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) joined forces with another former legislator, Laura Knaperek ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) of the “Orange Coalition” to strengthen eminent domain laws in Arizona.  Orange here is the short form for Organized Residents Against Needless Government Encroachment) The coalition, which formed two years ago to oppose the misuse of eminent domain, is urging the Legislature to pass bills that would create more protections for people whose property is taken forcibly by the government, and guarantee more relocation assistance for those who are displaced when the government takes property. Downing puzzed over why the entitlements of a property owner differed, depending on which state agency or jurisdiction took one’s property. From the property owner or tenants point of view, this made no sense.
 
Downing and the Orange Coalition found a champion in Senator Chuck Gray who is sponsoring two eminent domain bills S 1363 and S1366 (www.azleg.gov).  The bills  would expand the relocation-assistance requirements in eminent domain actions. It would, for instance, ensure timely disclosure to project affected peoples,  risk assessments of a project to those in the way, and a vote on any taking by an elected officials.  It would standardize the rights of peoples regardless of which agency is taking their livelihoods.. It also requires relocation assistance to be provided for owners of property near an eminent domain project to compensate for financial injury caused by the project. After extensive hearings with lively opposition and amendments, the two bills were voted out of committee and will soon be up for a vote of the full Arizona Senate.

 

For more information contact Downing at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 11 March 2010 )
 
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INDR identifies key human rights issues in the IFC involuntary resettlement policy revision

On behalf of INDR, Theodore (Ted) Downing helped prepared an overview of human rights issues to be considered in the revision of the International Finance Corporation's Performance Standard on Involuntary Resettlement and Land Acquistion (PS5).  INDR joined with the International Accountabiity Project (Jennifer Kalafut) and the Housing and Land Rights Network (Shivani Chaudhry) to prepare a brief on key Issues for Upholding Housing Land and Property Rights in the International Finance Corporation’s Review of Environmental and Social Policy Standards (Jan 2010).  Their findings highlighted 1) minimizing displacement and ensuring that displaced persons are project beneficiaries, 2) inclusion of individuals and communities who lose their livelihoods because of polluted fisheries, diminished water supplies, air pollution and other project impacts who face the full gamut of potential human rights violations and risks associated with unmitigated displacement, 3) inclusion of full risk assessment and livelihood restoration measures,  4)  ensurance that there are specific requirements for providing information and training about rights and processes options (including IFC policies and accountability mechanisms) by a third party prior to negotiations to help balance the bargaining power, and 5) strengthening of free, prior and informed consent in compliance with other international standards.

 

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