Secure Arkansas

URGENT ACTION REQUIRED!

** SB757  will be voted on tomorrow (Tues, March 17, 2015) at 1:30 p.m.

on the Senate Floor **

VOTE NO on SB757

Private Property Owners – Please Take Notice!

SB757 – The Taking of Private Property, Sustainable Development, and the elimination of private property.

The title:  “TO RESTRICT THE ABILITY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND OTHER ENTITIES TO REGULATE PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS.”

This title is the furthest from the truth! It is just like Nancy Pelosi said: “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it.” This bill does nothing to protect private property rights!  We must remain vigilant and hold steady until MAY 8 when the legislative session adjourns.  We know that you’re weary of making phone calls, but we must not be weary in well-doing.

This bad bill involves Sustainable Development which is defined by the United Nations (U.N.) as: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.  That almost sounds plausible, BUT you’ll remember from our past articles that Sustainable Development focuses on global population control, global land use and regulation, and global education (a.k.a. United Nations Agenda 21).  This is being implemented by all government agencies.  Global regulation is a major threat to our freedom. 

SB757 is 5-page document, and SB757_Amendment is also 5 pages long. You must read both the bill and the amendment to understand what is going on. The amendment restricts property rights even more than the original bill.

This bill and the amendment DO NOT need to be passed!  The bill UNDERMINES the Arkansas Constitution regarding private property rights.  Private property rights are already protected  in the Arkansas Constitution Article 2, Section 22 and Article 12, Section 9.  The complete text is found below (after the numbered list). 

The sponsors of this flawed and dangerous bill are Senator Jim Hendren (Gravette), Senator Jake Files (Ft. Smith), and Senator Bart Hester (Cave Springs), and it appears to have come from Americans Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) as model legislation titled as “The Private Property Protection Act”.

This bill is an Agenda 21/Sustainable Development piece of legislation that restricts and limits the property rights of the landowner regarding the recovering of losses due to takings.  The bill states in Section 1, item 4: “In order to establish a fair and equitable compensation system to address these stated public policy concerns and findings, the General Assembly should establish a compensation system.”  There is the term “public policy” term again. The Arkansas General Assembly can change public policy at any time they choose to change it. If a regulatory program makes any changes that may cause the fair market value to increase in value, NO compensation will be paid.

Public policy can be generally defined as a system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action, and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives. Public policy should be a concern for the whole state of Arkansas because, as you’ll remember, it can be changed by the whims of every General Assembly!  Unfortunately, public policy now strives for “social and economic justice” (U.N. Agenda 21 buzzwords); these are the antithesis of liberty.

Under SB757 Amendment, major changes were made to the bill to further restrict the landowner from the recovering of losses.  The Taking Application part of the amended bill required that the property value had to be reduced by 20% before a claim could be filed.  In the original SB757 bill, the property value only had to be reduced to 10% before a claim could be filed. In the amended part of SB757, compensation is required only when the fair market value of the real property is reduced by at least 20%.  The amount of compensation based on fair market value shall be determined by a jury.

SB757 does not apply to the following takings:

Note: The following are direct quotes from both SB757 and the SB757 Amendment:

1. An owner of real property if the real property is not the direct subject of the regulatory program;”

2. Laws or rules within the jurisdiction of the State Health Officer or regulatory activities of the Arkansas Pollution Control and  Ecology Commission, the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, the  Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission, or the State Plant Board under delegated or authorized programs or approved plans under federal law;

3. An eminent domain proceeding to which the Uniform Relocation 5 Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, 42 U.S.C. § 6 4601 et seq., as in effect on January 1, 2015, applies;

4. An eminent domain proceeding undertaken by a governmental unit under applicable law;

5. A lawful forfeiture or seizure of contraband under Arkansas Code, Title 5;

6. A lawful seizure of property as evidence of a crime or violation of law;

7. An action, including an action of a governmental unit, that is reasonably taken to fulfill an obligation mandated by federal law or an action of a governmental unit that is reasonably taken to fulfill an obligation mandated by state law;

8. The discontinuance or modification of a program or regulation that provides a unilateral expectation that does not rise to the level of a recognized interest in private real property;

9. An action taken to prohibit or restrict a condition or use of private real property if the governmental entity reasonably determines that the condition or use constitutes a public or private nuisance as determined by background principles of nuisance and property law of this state;

10. An action taken out of a reasonable good faith belief that the action is necessary to prevent an immediate threat to life or property; 

11. A rule, regulation, or proclamation adopted for the purpose of regulating water safety, hunting, fishing, or control of nonindigenous or exotic aquatic resources;

• To regulate construction in an area designated under law as a floodplain;

• To regulate onsite sewage facilities;

• To prevent waste of or protect rights of owners of interest in groundwater;

• To prevent subsidence; or

• Under its police power to make laws and regulations for the benefit of its communities;

12. An action taken by a governmental unit:

13. The appraisal of property for purposes of ad valorem taxation;

14. An action that is taken in response to a threat to public health and safety that is designed to advance the health and safety purpose; or

15. An action by a municipality unless the regulatory program has effect in the territorial jurisdiction of the municipality, excluding annexation, and that enacts or enforces a regulatory program that does not impose identical requirements or restrictions in the entire territorial jurisdiction of the municipality.

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NOTE:  The property right of the landowner is already protected under the Arkansas Constitution!  Under Article 2, Section 22, these rights are declared to be higher than any constitutional sanction; and private property shall not be taken, appropriate or damaged for public use, without just compensation therefor.  Under the Arkansas Constitution, ALL takings are required to be compensated. Under SB757, the property value must be reduced by 20% or more before it is considered to be a taking. And in this case, the property owner must file a claim in circuit court.

Read the Arkansas Constitution for yourself to see that it already protects private property rights:

Article 2 Declaration of Rights

Section 22 Property Rights – Taking without just compensation prohibited.

The right of property is before and higher than any constitutional sanction; and private property shall not be taken, appropriated or damaged for public use, without just compensation therefor.

Article 12 Municipal and Private Corporations

Section 9 – Taking of property by corporations – Compensation.

No property, nor right of way, shall be appropriated to the use of any corporation, until full compensation therefor shall be first made to the owner, in money; or first secured to him by a deposit of money; which compensation, irrespective of any benefit from any improvement proposed by such corporation, shall be ascertained by a jury of twelve men, in a court of competent jurisdiction, as shall be prescribed by law.

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Arkansas Senators: PLEASE vote NO on SB757. It’s a bad bill.

Secure Arkansas supporters:  Keep contacting all the Senators, please!
Tell them you want them to vote “NO” on SB757.

(Below the table are just the email addresses for all Senators, in case you’d like to copy and paste them to email all Senators at one time.)

Please notify Secure Arkansas about the responses you receive from your legislator.

Cecile.Bledsoe@senate.ar.gov
David.Burnett@senate.ar.gov
ronald.caldwell@Senate.ar.gov
eddie.cheatham@senate.ar.gov
lchesterfield@comcast.net
alan.clark@senate.ar.gov
Linda.Collins-Smith@senate.ar.gov
john.cooper@senate.ar.gov
dismang28@gmail.com
Joyce.Elliott@senate.ar.gov
jane.english@senate.ar.gov
Jake.Files@Senate.ar.gov
Scott.Flippo@senate.ar.gov
Stephanie.Flowers@senate.ar.gov
jim.hendren@senate.ar.gov
bart.hester@senate.ar.gov
jimmy.hickey@senate.ar.gov
Jeremy.Hutchinson@senate.ar.gov
friendsforkeith@gmail.com
Missy.Irvin@senate.ar.gov
David.Johnson@senate.ar.gov
Blake.Johnson@senate.ar.gov
bryan.king@senate.ar.gov
uvalde.lindsey@senate.ar.gov
bruce.maloch@senate.ar.gov
bobby.pierce@senate.ar.gov
Jason.Rapert@senate.ar.gov
Terry.Rice@senate.ar.gov
Bill.Sample@senate.ar.gov
davidjamessanders@gmail.com
gary.stubblefield@senate.ar.gov
Larry.Teague@senate.ar.gov
EddieJoe.Williams@senate.ar.gov
jon.woods@senate.ar.gov

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Our freedom and private property rights are important!