Bill > H1401

This bill amends Chapter 79 of the General Laws to restrict the use of eminent domain, a government power to take private property for public use, even with just compensation. Specifically, it clarifies that eminent domain can only be used when the property is needed for direct public use or by public agencies, and explicitly prohibits its use for private economic development or any private commercial enterprise. The bill also establishes that the determination of whether a use is truly public is a judicial matter, not solely a legislative one, and if property taken for a public purpose is not used as intended within five years, the original owner or their heirs must be offered the chance to repurchase it at the lower of the original purchase price or the current fair market value, with any subsequent sale requiring a public auction after proper notice.