A Virginia constitutional amendment to protect private property rights has progressed further than ever before in the legislative approval process.
HJ3 and SJ3, the state House of Delegates and Senate versions of the bill, tighten the definition of public use and require just compensation for owners of property taken for eminent domain. The bills passed in last year’s General Assembly.
“We have never gotten past that first step, but last year we did,” said Del. Robert Bell, R-Charlottesville, the chief patron of HJ3. “This year we are finally in sight of our goal.”
For a constitutional amendment to be enacted, it must pass in the General Assembly two years in a row with the exact same wording. If it passes in 2012, as it did in 2011, it will be placed on the ballot this November and would have to be approved by a majority of Virginia voters.
