Understanding State and Federal Property Rights Legislation

Abstract

Following the United States Supreme Court's decision in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, which did little to change the regulatory takings framework, many in the property rights movement were disappointed and shifted their energy toward enacting state and federal legislation to constrain government from engaging in regulatory takings. This article summarizes the state legislative responses to the efforts of property rights proponents, noting that while nearly twenty states passed legislation of some sort, the vast majority of these statutory enactments simply required greater assessment of regulatory takings issues without making any substantive changes in the regulatory takings framework.

Keywords: regulatory takings, property rights, state legislation