HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Senate State Government Committee Majority Chairman Sen. Cris Dush, R-Brookville, will convene an offsite public hearing in Centre County on Monday to receive testimony regarding eminent domain abuse and its impact on the private property rights of farmers, job-creating employers and homeowners.
The hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. at 301 N. Spring St., Bellefonte, and barring technical difficulties, will be livestreamed at the Pennsylvania Senate GOP page of https://www.pasenategop.com/
Factors to consider when establishing fair market value for any private property confiscated through Pennsylvania’s Eminent Domain Code (Title 26, Section 101) will be discussed as well.
Dush has introduced Senate Bill 800, which seeks to restore the inherent and indefeasible rights of enjoying life and liberty, and acquiring, possessing and protecting property in the pursuit of happiness as specified in Article 1, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
Fully supported by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, Dush’s legislation aims to help protect farm owners whose agricultural properties are seized through eminent domain. The corresponding loss of goodwill will also be examined.
As the senator explained in the bill’s memo, “This legislation would recognize that the loss to a farmer whose land is seized through eminent domain is beyond the assessed value of the land.
“The land may possess various characteristics that make it particularly special, such as fertile soil, existence in an area where the farmer can sell produce to passersby, proven dependability, and many others,” Dush wrote. “This legislation would seek to acknowledge the goodwill that a particular plot of land may have and compensate the farmer.”
With eminent domain confiscation most recently endangering fundamental private property rights in Centre, Elk and Jefferson counties, featured testifiers will include: Jess Darlington, Centre County resident and farmer who is being threatened by eminent domain due to PennDOT’s Route 322 connector project; Andy Bater, member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s board of directors; and Scott Jacobs, an Elk County small business owner impacted by eminent domain.
