Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Oregon Supreme Court Upholds Measure 37
In a ruling published this morning, Oregon's Supreme Court unanimously held that measure 37, the ballot measure restoring property rights to people whose land had been devalued by land-use regulation, is constitutional. The court's ruling overturns a district court decision that said the measure "impermissibly intruded on the legislature's plenary power." In other words, the legislature made its decision; what makes you, the voters, think you have the right to overturn that decision?
The district court's ruling was a source of great frustration to property rights advocates, who believed it was based on specious grounds. An attempt was even made to recall the judge from office, but the attempt failed when the recall petitions were found to violate some obscure rule. (With conservatives using petitions more and more, Oregon's Democratic leaders have greatly tightened the rules for accepting petitions, especially those submitted by those with whom they disagree -- as Ralph Nader will testify.)
The Supreme Court's decision affirms the view of property rights advocates and will be a cause for celebration at Oregonians in Action's annual land-use conference, scheduled to take place on March 11. You can read the court's ruling here.
In response to the ruling, the Blue Oregon blog emphasizes that the Supreme Court did not endorse the wisdom of measure 37. But that is not the job of the Supreme Court, so this is rather pointless.
The district court's ruling was a source of great frustration to property rights advocates, who believed it was based on specious grounds. An attempt was even made to recall the judge from office, but the attempt failed when the recall petitions were found to violate some obscure rule. (With conservatives using petitions more and more, Oregon's Democratic leaders have greatly tightened the rules for accepting petitions, especially those submitted by those with whom they disagree -- as Ralph Nader will testify.)
The Supreme Court's decision affirms the view of property rights advocates and will be a cause for celebration at Oregonians in Action's annual land-use conference, scheduled to take place on March 11. You can read the court's ruling here.
In response to the ruling, the Blue Oregon blog emphasizes that the Supreme Court did not endorse the wisdom of measure 37. But that is not the job of the Supreme Court, so this is rather pointless.
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