January 10, 2017 - Senator Robert Nichols along with 15 additional Senators and Representatives of the Texas Legislature drafted a letter to Mr. John Colyandro who is the executive director of the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute concerning the position paper the TCCRI published recently regarding the use of eminent domain by a private business.
The 'policy primer' the letter objected supported Texas Central Partners' (TCP) proposed Bullet Train, connecting Houston to Dallas, as an occasion to examine the law of eminent domain in Texas.
The letter quoted below respectfully requests that the TCCRI immediately rescind the unsigned policy brief, and publicly clarify that the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute opposes the use of eminent domain by any private entity.
"As conservative legislators, including a number of board and public members of the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute, we are gravely concerned with a recent unsigned policy position published by TCCRI, regarding the use of eminent domain by a private business.
We are further alarmed that apparently no notice was given to the legislative members of TCCRI, nor was any stakeholder group engaged, prior to the publication of this document.
Undoubtedly, we are troubled to read in the report that a conservative organization is justifying the use of eminent domain by a private company."
The letter was dated January 5, 2017 and signed by Senator Brian Birdwell, Senator Brandon Creighton, Senator Lois Kolkhorst, Senator Robert Nichols, Senator Charles Perry, Senator Charles Schwertner, Representative Trent Ashby, Representative Will Metcalf, Representative Cecil Bell, Representative Travis Clardy, Representative Byron Cook, Representative Leyton Schubert, Representative Mark Keough, Representative James White, Representative Dade Phelan, Representative John Wray.
Policy Primer: Eminent Domain Protections in Texas
Letter to Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute from Texas Legislature
