{"id":18857,"date":"2012-09-28T07:00:25","date_gmt":"2012-09-28T12:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=18857"},"modified":"2013-11-15T14:56:18","modified_gmt":"2013-11-15T20:56:18","slug":"eminent-domain-casts-its-long-shadow-over-the-texas-legislature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/09\/28\/eminent-domain-casts-its-long-shadow-over-the-texas-legislature\/","title":{"rendered":"Eminent Domain Casts its Long Shadow Over the Texas Legislature"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_18887\"  class=\"wp-caption module image center\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/09\/28\/eminent-domain-casts-its-long-shadow-over-the-texas-legislature\/cap-7\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-18887\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-18887\" title=\"cap 7\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/09\/cap-7-620x454.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/09\/cap-7-620x454.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/09\/cap-7-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/09\/cap-7.jpg 1878w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Photo by Mose Buchele<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">It remains to be seen how recent state supreme court decisions about property rights will be handled in the Texas legislature.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Today in a Beaumont courthouse, Jefferson County Judge Tom Rugg will hear yet another case concerning the Keystone XL pipeline. As <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/04\/20\/all-down-the-line-the-economic-and-environmental-impact-of-keystone-xl\/\">we&#8217;ve reported<\/a>, the Canadian company TransCanada has visited a few Texas courthouses lately. Always at issue is whether it can take private property in Texas to build the Keystone XL pipeline.<\/p>\n<p>And Judge Rugg expects we&#8217;ll see more pipeline companies visiting more Texas courthouses in the future.<\/p>\n<p>By all estimations, the <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/08\/22\/texas-supreme-court-reinforces-denbury-decision-on-eminent-domain-again\/\">Denbury Green ruling <\/a>on eminent domain by the Texas Supreme Court means nobody is quite sure where private property rights end, and a company\u2019s right to take property begins.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s opened up a real can of worms and I\u2019m not sure how it\u2019s gonna get resolved,&#8221; Judge Rugg tells StateImpact Texas.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But that doesn\u2019t mean state lawmakers won\u2019t try in the coming legislative session.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h4>Check This Box For Eminent Domain<\/h4>\n<div class=\"related-content alignright\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/08\/22\/texas-supreme-court-reinforces-denbury-decision-on-eminent-domain-again\/\">Texas Supreme Court Reinforces Denbury Decision on Eminent Domain. Again.<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/06\/how-to-get-eminent-domain-in-texas-just-check-this-box\/\">How to Get Eminent Domain in Texas (Just Check This\u00a0Box)<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/07\/25\/why-changes-to-eminent-domain-in-texas-may-be-imminent\/\">Why Changes to Eminent Domain in Texas May Be Imminent<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/04\/IMG_1150-e1345697253927.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/topic\/eminent-domain\/\">How Eminent Domain Works in\u00a0Texas<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>State Rep. Rene Oliveira [D-Brownsville] chairs the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.house.state.tx.us\/committees\/committee\/?committee=360\">House Land and Resource Management Committee<\/a>. At a panel discussion last week hosted by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/\">Texas Tribune<\/a>\u00a0(and moderated by this reporter), he talked about how the debate over pipeline companies and private property starts with a one page state government form. It&#8217;s called a T-4 form.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sounds like something out of the Terminator movies,&#8221; Oliveira said. But by <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/06\/how-to-get-eminent-domain-in-texas-just-check-this-box\/\">checking a box<\/a> on that form, companies in Texas can suddenly claim the right of eminent domain.\u00a0<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s all you had to do, and basically, you would become a common carrier, and you could build pipelines all across the state of Texas,&#8221; Oliveira said.<\/p>\n<p>That is, until the Denbury ruling. It found that the T-4 process does not ensure that pipelines will hire their services out to carry materials for whoever can pay. If the pipelines can\u2019t ultimately prove in court that they are &#8220;common carriers,&#8221; that means they have no right to take land. (But by the time the matter is settled in a court, the pipeline company could have already used eminent domain and constructed its pipeline.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat decision has left a lot of unanswered questions,&#8221; says Judge Rugg<strong>, <\/strong>&#8220;so there are a lot of legal issues that will have to be sorted through over the next few years.&#8221; <strong><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the state legislature, it\u2019s Rep.Oliveira\u2019s committee that\u2019s doing the sorting through.<\/p>\n<h4>The &#8216;Lose-Lose Bill&#8217;<\/h4>\n<p>Oliveira has already heard plenty of suggestions for how to reform eminent domain laws. You could have a state agency map out a pipeline\u2019s course (an idea the industry, and Libertarian property rights advocates both hate). There could be some kind of hearing to figure out if a pipeline should qualify for &#8216;common carrier&#8217; in the first place. And then there are those who want to do away with a company\u2019s ability to use eminent domain at all.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_9030\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/04\/20\/law-of-the-land-how-transcanada-will-leave-its-mark-on-texas-property-rights\/mann\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9030\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9030\" title=\"mann\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/04\/mann-300x224.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/04\/mann-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/04\/mann-620x463.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Photo by Mose Buchele for StateImpact Texas<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">James Mann is a lawyer who works for pipeline companies in Texas.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Oliveira says with so many competing ideas, even if a bill is passed it\u2019ll be sure to disappoint most people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a lose-lose bill to carry, and I may be carrying it,&#8221; he said.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Though there are some small areas of agreement.<\/p>\n<p>At that same panel where Oliveira spoke, pipeline and oil and gas industry representatives said they are sick of facing lawsuits challenging the use of eminent domain, especially in the midst of the Texas oil and gas boom.<\/p>\n<p>James Mann, a lawyer for the <a href=\"http:\/\/texaspipelines.com\/\">Texas Pipeline Association<\/a>, said pipeline companies might agree to do more to prove they have the right to take land, if it would provide some legal certainty.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t mind proving it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We\u2019d like to prove it just once, and we\u2019d like to prove it before we start building pipelines.\u201d<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But even with some support from industry, it remains an open question exactly how much power the legislature will have over issues of eminent domain.<\/p>\n<h4>Not A Practical Matter<\/h4>\n<p>Back in Beaumont, Jefferson County Judge Tom Rugg says he\u2019d like to see lawmakers fix the system. He&#8217;s just not sure if they can.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18688\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/09\/26\/whats-next-after-the-keystone-xl-pipelines-latest-court-victory\/beaumont-025-620x465\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-18688\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18688\" title=\"Beaumont-025-620x465\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/09\/Beaumont-025-620x4651-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/09\/Beaumont-025-620x4651-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/09\/Beaumont-025-620x4651.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Photo by Dave Fehling\/StateImpact Texas<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jefferson County Court at Law Judge Tom Rugg listens to arguments in the property rights case earlier this month.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;I think that\u2019s difficult because of the constitutional protections that are afforded property owners in Texas,&#8221; Rugg tells StateImpact Texas. He sees the possibility of an even longer, harder slog into the heart of Texas law.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A legislative solution may not, as a practical matter, be able to be accomplished without having a constitutional amendment election,&#8221; Rugg said.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And until that happens, he believes, the question of who gets to take land in Texas may continue to be fought courthouse by courthouse, county by county.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today in a Beaumont courthouse, Jefferson County Judge Tom Rugg will hear yet another case concerning the Keystone XL pipeline. As we&#8217;ve reported, the Canadian company TransCanada has visited a few Texas courthouses lately. Always at issue is whether it can take private property in Texas to build the Keystone XL pipeline. And Judge Rugg [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60],"tags":[214,73,139],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18857"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18857"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18939,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18857\/revisions\/18939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}