Giovanetti Defends Eminent Domain for Private Companies, Urges Lawmakers to Maintain Neutrality

DALLAS – Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) president Tom Giovanetti testified before the Texas House Land and Resource Management Committee this morning at Dallas City Hall to address the state’s eminent domain statutes.
 
In his testimony, Giovanetti defended the rights of private companies to have the power of eminent domain for public use projects, and called on policymakers to remain neutral in how eminent domain is applied to private industries.
 
“Economic growth places demand on infrastructure, and building infrastructure almost always involves an intrusion on private property,” said Giovanetti. “The Founders knew that the taking of personal property for public purposes would be necessary. They placed only two restrictions on the practice: A taking would have to be for a public use, and it had to be properly compensated.”
 
Government should not be the only entity to exercise eminent domain, said Giovanetti. “If that were the case, only government would be able to build, own and control infrastructure, leading to an enormous growth in the power and size of the government,” he said. “Rather than taxpayers footing the bill, let the private sector build as much of our infrastructure as possible, with private risk capital.”
 
In his remarks, Giovanetti also urged policymakers to remain neutral and resist the temptation to put industry- or technology-specific restrictions on eminent domain. “Government shouldn’t favor certain industries and disfavor others,” said Giovanetti. “The same laws and regulations should apply to all infrastructure, and then let the market decide who succeeds and who fails, not the government.”
 
The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) is an independent, nonprofit public policy organization based in Irving. IPI president Tom Giovanetti is available by contacting Erin Humiston at (972) 874-5139, or erin@ipi.org.