Proposed eminent domain amendment protects ‘the little guy’

November 6th is fast approaching, and many people are still not aware of the property rights constitutional amendment and how its passage (or lack thereof) will affect them. Below is another example of eminent domain abuse in Virginia that appeaered in last week's edition of News Leads, a press release of the top stories in Virginia agriculture sent to media across the state by Farm Bureau's Communications department.

If the amendment doesn't pass, Snively's story could happen again to someone else. Please remember to Vote Yes on Question 1 on Nov. 6, and please encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Joel Snively served 22 years as a Marine in posts around the world. Ironically, he said, one of his toughest battles was defending his private property rights at home.

Five years ago Snively was approached to allow a utility easement on Stafford County land zoned for agricultural use.

VFBF Real Dirt: AG Cuccinelli Talks about Property Rights Amendment

Have you seen the latest Virginia Farm Bureau Real Dirt video? It features Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli talking about something very near and dear to our hearts: the property rights constitutional amendment. Feel free to share it with your friends through email or even display it on your Facebook page by clicking the Share button at the top of the video. If you need help doing so, please contact me at kelly.pruitt@vafb.com or 804-290-1293. And don't forget to Vote Yes for Question 1 on Nov. 6!

From the Field: Farm Bureau staff and volunteers cover a lot of ground on eminent domain campaign

From the Field is a bi-monthly column written by Mark Campbell, Farm Bureau Field Services Director for the Central District. He writes about Farm Bureau member benefits and County Farm Bureau activities.

Virginia Farm Bureau’s campaign in support of a constitutional amendment on eminent domain is in full swing mode. Farm Bureau staff and volunteers have been using every opportunity available to inform members, the agriculture community, and general public about the eminent domain constitutional amendment and the importance of voting yes on question 1 on the Nov. 6 ballot. Things really picked up the first of August. The volunteers are pumped up about promoting this.

The Field Services and Governmental Relations staff have been promoting all of the available promotional and educational tools available to county Farm Bureaus, and the county Farm Bureaus have acted quickly in ordering supplies. There are a lot of events happening around the state now, and even more will be taking place going into the fall season. Farm Bureau is utilizing all of these venues to get the message out to the public.

Governor Signs Property Rights Bills; Coalition Officially Launches Campaign

Virginia landowners will be confident that their private property cannot be taken and given to another private owner under eminent domain if the commonwealth’s voters approve Question 1 on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Bipartisan legislation was signed by Gov. Bob McDonnell yesterday to place a proposed constitutional amendment on this fall’s ballot to protect the private property rights of Virginia’s farmers, small businesses and individuals. The amendment specifies that eminent domain cannot be used unless it is for a true public use and further ensures just compensation for the landowner, including the opportunity for lost access and lost profits to be considered as part of that compensation. The language in the amendment also clarifies what is a true “public use” and specifies that no more land than is necessary can be taken.

The “Private Property Rights” amendment and companion legislation was supported by Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli and patroned by Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg; Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle; and Del. Johnny Joannou, D-Portsmouth.

At the July 16 bill signing, a coalition of private property rights advocates announced the launch of a campaign encouraging Virginians to “Vote Yes for Private Property Rights.”

“Our members are excited about the opportunity that this constitutional amendment will provide. No longer will our farms, homes or businesses be taken and given to another private property owner under Kelo-type eminent domain abuses,” said Wayne F. Pryor, president of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. Martha Moore and Trey Davis, Farm Bureau Governmental Relations staff, were also in attendance.

'Vote Yes' Campaign Signs Arriving Soon to a County Farm Bureau Office Near You

Virgina Farm Bureau Board of Directors
Thomas Graves

Photo by Kathy Dixon

The Virginia Farm Bureau Governmental Relations Department has been busy gearing up for the "Vote Yes on Question 1" property rights campaign this fall. The campaign is to educate voters about the property rights constitutional amendment which will appear as question 1 on the Nov. 6 ballot.

One of the tools we will be using is campaign signs. Your county Farm Bureau has been sent a sample "Vote Yes on Question 1" 14"x22" campaign sign. They will be ordering more for distribution to Farm Bureau members in the next few weeks.

Please keep in mind that although the campaign signs are weather resistant, they are only built to last two or three months out in the elements at best. So if you are interested in hosting a sign or several signs on your property, please think about posting them around September to hit voters hard before Nov. 6.

To amend the Constitution of Virginia, a state senator and/or delegate must introduce a bill, in the form of a resolution, with the wording of the amendment. If the bill is passed by one house, it goes to the other house and goes through the same process. The bill must pass by a majority.

The bill must go through the same process the following year and be approved in exactly the same form. We achieved this last winter in the Virginia General Assembly. After this process, the amendment goes on the November ballot, where it must be approved by a majority of voters.

If the property rights constitutional amendment passes, it will make sure:

• Private property may be only taken for a true “public use,” and not taken and then given to another private landowner;

• In the unfortunate circumstances where your property is taken, you will be correctly paid for the loss of value to your property; and,

• No more of your property may be taken than that which is absolutely necessary.

Farm Bureau has 34 successes at General Assembly

Martha Moore
Vice President, Governmental Relations

As the General Assembly concluded without a budget, Farm Bureau policy positions prevailed on 34 out of 40 issues. This number will change once we know the outcome on the state budget.

A big thank you goes out to those of you who made legislative contacts when we asked you as well as those of you who participated in Legislative Day. We can't emphasize enough how crucial it is for legislators to hear the issues and how they affect agriculture straight from Virginia farmers like you. Your contacts made all the difference this year, and we can attribute our success to you.

If you are a producer member and would like to receive our action alerts, please email Kelly.Pruitt@vafb.com.

Below are some highlights from this year's session:

Animal Care

• Successful in defeating all legislation that place arbitrary and unscientific animal husbandry practice restrictions on farmers and prevented giving human rights to animals

Game Laws

• Made coyotes and feral hogs nuisance species so that this would allow some permanency beyond regulations for an open season on these nuisance species

• Defeated all bills that would have allowed Sunday hunting

Property Rights

• Passed a resolution placing a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2012 to permanently protect property owners from eminent domain takings for private benefit

• Ensured that landowners are fairly compensated for factors that impact the fair market value as “lost profits” and “lost access”

Please stay tuned on this issue as we are working on developing a statewide campaign on getting the ballot initiative passed. Look for more information on how your county Farm Bureau can help ensure that are successful in a major final piece of achieving our policy position on protecting your property rights from eminent domain abuse.

Virginia Cooperative Extension/ Agriculture Experiment Station

• Passed a commending resolution on the Agriculture Experiment Station’s 125th Anniversary to highlight the programs that have helped support farm profitability

Virginia Farm Bureau News Lead: Amendment would address farmers’ lost access and profits

This story appeared in the March 1 edition of News Leads, the week's top ag stories sent out by the VFB Communications Department to media across the state:

Farmers whose land is taken using eminent domain should be able to access what’s left of their property and should be compensated for profits lost when a condemning authority has decided to take their land.

That’s one premise of a proposed amendment to Virginia’s constitution that was passed by this year’s General Assembly and will be on the ballot for voters in November.

As part of the language in the resolution, the state legislature has been asked to define lost profits and lost access.

“We feel that defining these terms is a critical step in moving the constitutional amendment forward," said Trey Davis, assistant director of governmental relations for Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. “Anyone can have their property taken for eminent domain, and if they can’t access their (remaining) property or don’t get compensated for lost profits, that’s not fair."

Property Rights Amendment Passes Senate

Good afternoon. My name is Trey Davis, and I have been fortunate enough to work this year and last on a constitutional amendment to protect your property rights in Virginia’s constitution. With bipartisan support from the 2011 and 2012 Sessions of the General Assembly, we are closer to achieving this goal than ever.

Thanks to your hard work this fall with the Stand Our Ground: Property Rights postcard campaign, we achieved a major victory yesterday, getting the property rights constitutional amendment through the Senate on a 23-17 vote and through the House of Delegates on a vote of 80-18. SB437 (Obenshain) and HB1035 (Joannou), the companion legislation to define lost profits and lost access in regards to eminent domain takings, have passed their respective houses as well.

Here are a few reactions from our Attorney General and Senator Mark Obenshain, the chief patron on the Senate side:

Virginia Farm Bureau News Lead: Eminent domain constitutional amendment is ‘finally in sight’

This story appeared in the Jan. 19 edition of News Leads, the week's top ag stories sent out by the VFB Communications Department to media across the state:

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.

Governmental Relations collects more than 13,500 property rights postcards

The Stand Our Ground: Property Rights postcard campaign has technically come to end, and we have received more than 13,500 signed postcards. Many thanks to the county Farm Bureaus for their participation!

At county Farm Bureau annual meetings this summer and fall, Virginia Farm Bureau asked its members to sign postcards in support of the second passage of a constitutional amendment to protect property rights in the upcoming General Assembly. Each county was asked to sign "112 for 2012," which equals almost 10,000 cards. As you can see, we surpassed that goal!

The top three counties to collect signed postcards are:

1. Page County- 1,509
2. August- 448
3. Bedford-  354

The postcards will be delivered to legislators at a crucial time next year.