Private Property Rights Protection Act
The Private Property Rights Protection Act is Arizona's response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision allowing government to seize land for private commercial development. This Act protects private property by defining public use to mean only the public will own and use the land and declares that the public benefits of economic development, including increased tax revenues and employment, shall not constitute a public use. The Act ensures that Arizona citizens receive just compensation if they lose their property or lose the value of their property when government takes or enacts a law that diminishes the value of private property.
Eminent domain is the power of the government to take private property for public use. Proposition 207 sets forth the rights of a property owner when the state or a local government exercises the power of eminent domain. (These rights are in addition to the current statutory and constitutional rights.)
Proposition 207 would limit the use of eminent domain to situations where eminent domain is authorized by the state and the property taken is put to a public use. The proposition defines "public use" to include:
1. The use of land by the general public or by public agencies.
2. The use of land for utilities.
3. The acquisition of property to eliminate a direct threat to the public health or safety caused by the current condition of the property.
4. The acquisition of abandoned prope[More...]