Public Comment. Volume III - Montana Legislature

Northern Plains Resource Council
Good evening, Chairman Cole and members of the Joint Subcommittee. My name
is Dena Hoff, and I am speaking to you tonight on behalf of the Northern Plains Resource
Council, a three thousand-member organization of farmers, ranchers, and townspeople
working to conserve Montana's precious natural resources and promote family-based
agriculture.
First, on behalf of the members of NPRC, I would like to thank each one of you,
Chairman Cole, Vice Chairwoman Gutsche, Representatives Lindeen, Shockley, McGee,
Tash, and Gillan, Senator Stang, Mr. Ebzery, Mr. Sorenson and Ms. Page, for the hard
work each of you have put into this study. We appreciate your support and work on
behalf of ordinary Montanans across the state.
My husband Alvin and I farm near Glendive on the Yellowstone River, where we
raise beans, corn, sheep and alfalfa. For twenty years, we have put our heart and souls
into our land, and like many people across Montana, we don't like the idea that a big
corpoxation can take our private property under the laws of this state, destroying
everything that we have worked for so that some out-of-state profiteer can make a few
bucks by building their pipeline, railroad, powerline, or other so-called "public use."
As you can tell from the stickers you see on everyone's shirts, we are here this
evening with one simple message: reform eminent domain - make it more fair.
It is not enough to continue to study this outdated, antiquated statute without
proposing meaninel reforms to help Montana's rural landowners. It is not enough to
only produce a booklet informing private property owners that, as we suspected, we have
very little rights under the law. It is not enough to continue down this road to nowhere
that opponents of private property rights protection would have us go.
The eminent domain law is largely unchanged since it was written in 1877, before
Montana was even a state, and it must go. Now is the time to make a decision between
private property owners and the large corporations that would take our land.
You have the opportunity today to do something remarkable. You can, in this
economically depressed state, where personal income is 5 1 ", say to our number one
ind~stry~~agriculture: "We will protect your number one asset - your land. We will not let
eminent domain be abused, and we will close loopholes that threaten rural people."
I want to speak directly about some of the eminent domain reforms we believe are
most important.
First and most important, is a redefinition of what currently constitutes the
definition of public use. Section 70-30-102 of the code says that many things, including
pipelines, railroads, mines, wharves. docks, telegraph lines, and sewage are public uses.
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