Well, if you haven’t followed the happenings in the current session of the Mississippi Legislature, I’m afraid I have some bad news.
Let me start from the beginning. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Kelo vs. City of New London, Conn.
In the 5-4 decision, the court said the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another to further economic development was an appropriate public use of the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause.
Since then, several state legislatures have passed laws to prevent this.
This year, the Mississippi Legislature attempted to add the state to that list. The House introduced House Bill 803, which ultimately passed by a 119-3 vote. It then went to the Senate and passed 51-0 with one member not voting.
So far, so good. However, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour vetoed the bill. The house then voted 101-19 to override the veto. But amazingly, 22 senators changed their minds and sustained the governor’s veto. So beware. The state of Mississippi just might take your home or investment property away from you because someone else can pay more taxes to the state.
There are two options to correct this. Somehow I don’t see the legislature making another attempt next year as having much probability.
The option to pass HB 803 into law as a ballot initiative is a lot of work and probably not doable in time for the municipality general elections this year. The target would be the U.S. Congressional general election in 2010. Too bad we can’t have a recall election for the 22 senators who changed their minds, or for that matter, Gov. Barbour himself.
Senators who voted to sustain Barbour’s veto are:
• Sidney Albritton, R-40
• David Baria, D-46
• David Blount, D-29
• Terry W. Brown, R-17
• Hob Bryan, D-7
• Terry C. Burton, R-31
• Lydia Graves Chassaniol, R-14
• Bob M. Dearing, D-37
• Merle Flowers, R-19
• Jack Gordon, D-8
• Billy Hewes, R-49
• W. Briggs Hopson III, R-23
• Robert L. Jackson, D-11
• Sampson Jackson II, D-32
• Dean Kirby, R-30
• Nolan Mettetal, R-10
• Walter Michel, R-25
• T.O. Moffatt, R-52
• Willie Simmons, D-13
• Gray Tollison, D-9
• Bennie L. Turner, D-16
• Johnnie E. Walls Jr., D-12
If the senator representing your district is on this list, I have two words for you to remember when they come around asking for your vote in 2011: term limits. Some of you may even want to consider running yourself.
Also, if you do the math, you will find that the list above is evenly divided with 11 Republicans and 11 Democrats. I do want to commend the bipartisanship of those who worked to initially get HB 803 passed and to override the governor’s veto in both houses of the Mississippi Legislature, especially those that I have, metaphorically speaking, beaten up on so much in the past.
Kerry Hunt is a Parking Services officer at Mississippi State. He can be contacted at [email protected].