Property rights changes on to Senate

House members gave final approval this morning to bills limiting governments' ability to obtain private property for public purposes.

The issue now shifts to the state Senate.

On Wednesday, the House voted to ask voters whether the state constitution should be amended to strenghten the state's protection of private property rights, to prevent goverments from condemning property and giving it to private developers. A second bill would make the changes in state law.

The amendment originally included a provision that would require local governments to pay private property owners if local zoning or land use rules caused their property to lose value. That was taken out of the amendment but left in the state law measure.

A change proposed by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Harrison, R-Richland, to reconsider the vote on the constitutional amendment portion of the debate and include zoning limits was discussed this morning and then dropped.