2005 Senate Bill 693 ↩

Senate Roll Call 530: Passed

To prohibit the use of eminent domain by state or local governments to take private property for the primary benefit of a private entity, rather than for “the use or benefit” of the public. This would place in statute the same provisions that <a href="http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=41339">Senate Joint Resolution E</a> will place in the Constitution if adopted by voters in November, 2006, including placing the burden of proof on a governmental entity to demonstrate that a particular property is being taken for a public use, or because it is "blighted," and requiring compensation of 125 percent of the fair market value if a private home is taken. The bill also would add to statute an explicit definition of "blight," which is often used as a justification for taking private property, but which is so loosely defined in current statutes that it can be used to condemn property that a reasonable person would not perceive as blighted.