A local lawmaker has successfully shepherded a bill through the House of Representatives to help protect and inform Hoosiers of potential eminent domain property seizures for railroad construction.
The measure, co-authored by Rep. Jim Pressel of Rolling Prairie, would require railroad carriers to demonstrate their plans to use the property for public use before being allowed to take it. In other words, a compelling public need for the land would have to be shown before the railroad could assume ownership of the property.
“I think the residents won’t be hit unexpectedly with requests for their land for rail usage<” Pressel said. “My goal is to ensure that the communities and homeowners are better protected and more informed about the impact and the need for a proposed rail project before it happens.”
Pressel adds the legal standard of a public need is already required to exercise eminent domain in other situations. However, many elements of Indiana’s eminent domain laws concerning railroads have not been updated since the 19th century.
