In 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court decision gave us Kelo - government can seize land from private individuals for the purpose of allowing other private individuals to develop it.
The GOP made passing the eminent domain amendment a part of its campaign platform.
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The House Judiciary Committee recommended a proposed constitutional amendment...The bill, which now goes to the full House for an expected Thursday vote, would enshrine in the state constitution certain protections for landowners if approved by voters statewide in a November 2012 ballot.
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The proposed amendment would let North Carolina voters decide whether to add language to the state constitution to bar condemnation of private property by state or local governments except for a "public use." That could include highways, railroads or natural gas pipelines.
Another safeguard is access to a jury trial to assure just compensation if the property owner requests.
Constitutional amendments make me nervous, but loss of property rights make me more nervous. Private property should be protected from government.
However, considering the difficulty in passing constitutional amendments I can't help but wonder if this is simply a path by which good law or appropriate change is left to die while at the same time meeting campaign promises.
Article II Section 3 paragraph 3 States: No County shall be divided in the formation of a senate district.
Article II Section 5 Paragraph 3 States: No County shall be divided in the formation of a representative district.
But, Brad Miller ignored the NC Constitution not only when he helped draw the many districts across NC, but also his own gerrymandered district following the 2000 census. Brad Miller, it seems, has a penchant for disenfranchising voters of both parties for his benefit.
Division of Counties Must Be Minimized: Article II of the State Constitution says that in drawing State House and Senate districts, no county shall be divided. In 1981, the US Department of Justice said that requirement was inconsistent with the Voting Rights Act, so the General Assembly disregarded it for 21 years. Then in 2002 the State Supreme Court in the case of Stephenson v. Bartlett said the “Whole County Provision”, found in the State Constitution must be honored to the extent it can be honored, consistent with the Voting Rights Act and other State and federal precepts. The Stephenson decision for the first time said the equal protection clause of the State Constitution contained a presumption for single-member legislative districts, and that presumption should be a limitation on the Whole County Provision. The US Justice Department approved the Stephenson opinion and withdrew its 1981 objection to the Whole County Provision. The Court in Stephenson prescribed a step-by-step method for harmonizing the Whole County Provision with the other laws.
First, the General Assembly should draw the districts required by the Voting Rights Act.
Second, it should take all the counties with just the right population to be single-member districts and make them one-county single-member districts.
Third, it should take all the counties that have just the right populations for one or more districts and divide those counties into compact single-member districts.
Fourth, for the remaining counties it should group them into clusters of counties and divide the clusters into compact single-member districts, crossing county lines within the cluster as little as possible.
It is time the citizens of NC hold our state's constitution to the feet of those who draw the congressional districts.
