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CRC Column

The right to criticize government is also an obligation to know what you are talking about. 
 -Lent Upson, 1st Executive Director of CRC  

This page analyzes an issue that will appear on Michigan's statewide ballot at the November 7, 2006 general election. The Citizens Research Council of Michigan does not endorse candidates for office or take position on ballot issues. In analyzing these ballot issues, CRC hopes to provide more information so that voters can make better informed decisions in formulating their vote.

 



Proposal 2006-04: Eminent Domain

The Citizens Research Council has released its analysis of the proposed constitutional amendment regarding the use of eminent domain. At the November 7, 2006, general election Michigan voters will be presented with a proposal to amend Article X, Section 2 of the 1963 Michigan Constitution.

In part, this proposed amendment is about ending the uses of eminent domain in which private property is condemned for transfer to a private entity for the purposes of economic development or the enhancement of tax revenues. It would adopt by reference the three-part standard of the County of Wayne v. Hathcock ruling defining when eminent domain is permissible to transfer property to a private entity.
  1. "public necessity of the extreme sort" requires collective action;
  2. the property remains subject to public oversight after the transfer to the private entity; or
  3. the property is selected because of "facts of independent public significance," rather than the interests of the private entity receiving the property.

The proposed amendment goes further than simply placing the Hathcock standards in the Constitution so they may not be undone by future court rulings. The amendment would require governments to provide compensation at least equal to 125 percent of a residential property’s fair market value. The proposed amendment would shift the burden of proof that the taking is for a public use from the owner objecting to the taking to the government proposing the taking. Finally, Proposal 2006-04 protects against future legislative actions or judicial decisions that would reduce the rights, grants, or benefits afforded to property owners.

CRC's Analysis CRC Summary Ballot Language Read Amendment

 

 

 

The Ballot Proposal Process in Michigan: A Synopsis

There are four methods whereby a proposal can be placed on the statewide ballot in Michigan: (1) statutory initiative, (2) voter referendum, (3) legislative referendum, and (4) constitutional amendment.

STATUTORY INITIATIVE is defined by Section 9 of Article 2 of the Michigan Constitution as the power which the people reserve to themselves "to propose laws and to enact and reject laws." The power of initiative extends to any law the Legislature may enact and is invoked by filing petitions containing signatures of registered voters equal in number to at least eight percent of the total votes cast in the last election for governor. The Legislature is required to enact, without modification, or reject any proposed initiative within 40 session days. An initiative not enacted by the Legislature is placed on the statewide ballot at the next general election. A law that is initiated or adopted by the people is not subject to gubernatorial veto and one adopted by voters cannot subsequently be amended or repealed except by the voters or by a three-fourths vote of the Legislature.

VOTER REFERENDUM is defined by Section 9 of Article 2 of the Michigan Constitution as the power "to approve and reject laws enacted by the legislature." Referendum must be invoked, within 90 days of final adjournment of the legislative session during which the law in question was enacted, by filing petitions containing signatures of registered voters equal in number to at least five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the last general election. The effect of invoking a referendum is to suspend the law in question until voters approve or reject it at the next general election.

LEGISLATIVE REFERENDUM is authorized by Section 34 of Article 4 of the Michigan Constitution, which provides that "[a]ny bill passed by the legislature and approved by the governor, except a bill appropriating money, may provide that it will not become law unless approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon."

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT is authorized by Sections 1 and 2 of Article 12 of the Michigan Constitution and may be proposed either by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature or by filing petitions containing signatures of registered voters equal in number to at least ten percent of the total votes cast for governor in the last general election.

 

 

 

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Last Updated October 23, 2006