At the top of Manassas’s list is a proposed constitutional amendment affecting state and local government’s ability to impose what is known as “eminent domain.” Eminent domain allows governments to take private property for a road, school, firehouse or other generally accepted “public good.” The land is assessed and the landowner is paid based on the property’s value.
Prompted by a 2005 Supreme Court decision that upheld a Connecticut municipality’s right to use eminent domain for a private company, Virginia legislators proposed a constitutional amendment that would ensure that private companies could not benefit from the government’s use of that power. However, officials for local jurisdictions say the amendment’s language goes well beyond the eminent domain issue.
Manassas Mayor Harry J. “Hal” Parrish II (R) said the amendment could lead businesses to sue the city when water pipes burst and affect the city’s ability to close streets for parades, among other outcomes.
“[The constitutional amendment] says, not only do you have to pay if you close a public structure or conveyance, you have to pay private enterprise for the profit loss that might take place if you take that action,” Parrish said.
That’s because the amendment’s language proposes compensating businesses for “lost profits” and “lost access,” said Mark Flynn of the Virginia Municipal League, which represents localities. Flynn said he thinks businesses might be able to make that argument to courts for a variety of government projects, including state and local roads that benefit private businesses.
“It will enrich the property owners who are in that situation at the expense of everybody else,” Flynn said. Flynn said localities support the appropriate use of eminent domain, but that the amendment’s language could cause “unintended consequences.”
Del. Johnny S. Joannou (D-Portsmouth), who sponsored the amendment, disagreed with its detractors and said they had misinterpreted his bill.
“All I can tell you is there’s nothing wrong with the bill,” Joannou said. “If you want the government to run your life and be socialistic, then fine.”
Joannou helped pass the bill last year. Under Virginia law, a constitutional amendment must be passed twice by the legislature and then approved by voters in a referendum.
Manassas is hiring municipal lobbyist Thomas A. Dick on a contract not to exceed $12,500, according to a letter Dick sent to the city. Dick is charging the city $1,500 a month to argue against the proposed amendment; eliminating or curbing a tax on manufacturers; and reducing state funds for localities, among other issues, according to the letter.
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