Land Use & Property Rights

A bill in Colorado will limit the state’s ability to access large troves of private data concerning Colorado residents. The bill’s authors and supporters is bipartisan. 

House Bill 1037 Prohibits the state from purchasing private data from 3rd parties without a warrant.

Colorado Politics | Colorado legislators, prosecutors clash over proposal to limit access to third-party data

More states want to limit the type of technology a government can buy. One version of this legislation is limiting purchases of drones made by companies owned by interests in certain counties. Want to guess the countries? If you said, China, you are today’s winner. Congratulations!

In Michigan this looks like House Bill 5331. This bill helps set up the ban on state agencies purchasing and operating drones from companies listed as concerns by the federal government. In short hand- no state funds for Chinese drones. Kansas has already passed something similar. 

Michigan Advance | Michigan House committee hears proposal to restrict state drone purchases

Those who have requested a Texas Attorney General opinion concerning data center development in Hood County, Texas include the Lt. Governor, a state representative, and now the Hood County Attorney. RQ-0633-KP

By changing state title laws to include manufactured homes in the definition of real property will unlock mortgage options for manufactured homes. This change would lead to cost savings for the owners of 27% to 65%.

New Hampshire addressed this in 1983 by defining real property to include dwellings connected to utilities.

Pew Charitable Trusts | States Hold the Keys to Greater Mortgage Access for Manufactured Home Buyers

2026 politics 101: Politicizing liquor licenses, and the renewal of licenses, as a way to control businesses that do something that state/local governments find displeasing. 

Does this also sound like the plot of a dystopian film? Maybe, or maybe officials don’t like that hotels are housing ICE and that issue arises during a liquor permit renewal hearing.

Minneapolis Star Tribune | Should Minneapolis deny liquor licenses to hotels that housed ICE agents? City Council debates it.

Governing | “Pulling or threatening liquor licenses without clear cause would be reckless and devastating to working people.”

Legislators in Maine are considering a moratorium on data center development. LD 307 will establish a data center coordination council to provide input and evaluate policy options for data center development in the state. An amendment would add a moratorium for data centers with loads above 2oMW until July 1, 2028.

Daily Yonder | As Data Centers Look to Rural New England, Maine Considers a Moratorium

Data center development bans are super popular right now. New York legislators say that they have filed the strongest moratorium on data center development in the country. S9144 Maine, above, might disagree.

Thus far no statewide data center development bans have passed. Local bans have passed. New Orleans has passed a 1 year development moratorium. A similar moratorium passed in Madison, Wisconsin.

Tech Crunch | The public opposition to AI infrastructure is heating up

ABC News : “Uttech is facing what other residents in his town — and others around the country — are facing more and more: the risk of losing parts of his land to eminent domain, the government’s legal authority to seize private property for public use, in support of the growing expansion of AI data centers as the demand to power them continues to grow”

@ABCNews

Texas Policy Research Lays out the various arguments supporting county authority to limit development. Rep. Slawson says that counties can protect water under Local Government Code Chapter 231, Subchapter K. Rep. Virdell argues for legislative action. Lt. Governor and Rep. Slawson have requested Attorney General Opinions.

Add Ohio to the states seeking to limit the number of residential properties that investor groups can own.

Ohio has an interesting approach. Instead of placing hard limits on ownership numbers, Ohio State Senator Blessing proposes taxing LLCs that own more than 50 homes.  SB 28

Governing | “You can’t just hoard homes.”

The Illinois Rewilding Law allows the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to restore land to its natural state.

Illinois is the first state to re-wild wetlands after changes to the federal Clean Water Act. 

Governing | Illinois Becomes First State to Recognize ‘Rewilding’ Wetland Protection

Kansas’ Senate Bill 405 “ outlines eight items AI chatbots cannot do, including providing emotional support through open-ended conversations with a user; acting as a “sentient human” or mirroring humanlike interactions to make the user feel as if they developed a relationship with the chatbot; and encouraging an individual to isolate from their family, friends or caregivers.“

It also expands the Attorney General’s ability to pursue claims under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.

Kansas Reflector | Bill targets emotional, sometimes dangerous interactions between Kansans and artificial intelligence

Meet Upside Robotics. It builds lightweight solar-powered autonomous robots that deliver right-sized amounts of fertilizer and nutrients to crops when they need it. This reduces fertilizer use and fertilizer waste.

Tech Crunch | Upside Robotics is reducing fertilizer use and waste in corn crops

Canada, the great neighbor to the North, is experiencing a property renaissance by converting vacant malls into senior living complete with food courts. Malls offer wide corridors and that make the properties well suited for senior living. @engineer.facts_ and You Tube documentary

25% of Nevada’s single family homes are investor owned. This is 6% higher than the national average.

92% of the 25% are small investor owned, meaning the investor owns 1-5 homes. 2.1% of the 25% are mega investor owned, meaning the investment group owns more than 1000 homes.

Nevada Current | Investors own a quarter of Nevada’s houses, but are ‘misunderstood’ says report

SB 822 in West Virginia would have changed fee simple ownership by ending fee simple ownership after 20 years for property with any land protection agreement that interferes with mineral development and timber harvesting.

The policy goal of SB822 would have been to promote land and mineral development and timber harvesting “for the economic benefit of the citizens of the state.”

News from the States | Land ownership rights threatened by the Legislature

Idaho’s Governor signed HB 361 which quickly moves control of HOAs from developers and builders to property owners. The bill uses this metric : once 75% of lots are sold, at least one-third of the seats on the HOA board need to be for homeowners.

Boise Dev | ICYMI: Legislature says HOA developers should hand over control sooner

West Virginia Legislature is considering HB 4060 that mandates that businesses accept cash. The bill would apply to retail, food and service business, and any businesses offering goods and services.

It’ll be interesting to see if debate takes into consideration safety. In Austin food establishments have been burglarized for the cash on hand.

WDTV | W.Va. legislature introduces bill requiring businesses to accept cash

Did you think Texas? I, too, was wrong. It is Oregon. People are moving for the high wage jobs, half report wages above $150,000, and at a pace where inbound movers exceed outbound movers.

The data is from United Vanlines 49th annual report on moving trends. This is the 1st time Oregon tops the list of inbound migration. New Jersey leads in outbound migration for the 8th year. 

“Santa Fe will become the first U.S. city to explicitly link the high cost of housing to the minimum wage.” After a 2027 increase to $17.50 an hour, the minimum wage will be adjusted annually based on a blend of CPI and the Department of Housing and Urban Development fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit in the area.

On January 1, 2026, 19 states raised their minimum wage.

Governing | Should Cities Link the Minimum Wage to Housing Costs?

The California Privacy Protection Agency kicked off 2026 by launching a tool that state residents can use to make data brokers delete and stop selling their personal information. Meet  Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, or DROP. DROP is the result of a 2023 law known as the Delete Act. Under it and previous laws, data brokers must register with the state and enable consumers to tell brokers to stop tracking them and selling their information. 

The Markup | How Californians can use a new state website to block hundreds of data brokers

IJ.org discusses co-living and single room occupancy as a way to “expand affordable housing, strengthen property rights, and reduce homelessness – without new spending or bureaucracy.”

IJ has a model act, the ROOM Act, a model state reform that empowers communities to bring back safe, flexible, market-driven housing options. 

We’ve talked about states seeking to limit private equity investments in residential housing. This week, the Administration announced its intent to ban “Wall Street firms from buying up single-family homes in a bid to reduce home prices, a potential blow for private-equity landlords that also pressured homebuilder stocks.”

Reuters | Trump threatens to ban Wall Street investments in single-family homes

A growing list of local governments are prohibiting the use of AI for rent increases. Spokane recently joined Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Minneapolis.

Governing | Spokane Blocks Algorithmic Rent Pricing After Rents Soar

New York Governor signed a bill regulating the use of AI in advertisements that mislead and undermine trust.

“First-in-the-Nation Legislation S.8420-A/A.8887-B Requires Individuals Who Produce or Create Advertisements To Disclose if AI-Generated Synthetic Performers are Used”

@thefuturelab quotes Asma Yousuf Zainal as “ Data is the new land. Geopolitical power will shift from controlling physical territories to controlling data networks and AI ecosystems.”

To make home ownership accessible, The Netherlands will begin requiring permitting for second homes in the country. Reminds me of Spain limiting Airbnb to help home affordability.  @dutchbrief

A bill, SB 10, that would have limited corporate home buying in Nevada failed by 1 vote in the legislature’s recent special session. The bill would have put a 1000 total cap on residential home purchases by private investors & created a private investor home register at the Secretary of State. The bill had bipartisan support and lawmakers intend to re-file the bill in the 2027 regular legislative session.

Nevada Current | Surprise bipartisan bill to rein in corporate homeownership signals issue isn’t going away

A $1 billion data center that would have required re-zoning has pulled its project from Franklin Township, Indianapolis. Constituents opposed to the project said that concerns included rising energy costs and the project’s water use. @the_cool_down

Are AI driven balloons a loophole around no drones over private property? In Arizona insurers are using AI driven balloons to photograph homes for insurance risk assessments. These balloons fly in near space, above commercial airlines, below satellites. Are these balloons a form of  constitutional surveillance? 

“Our balloons capture what 800,000 drones would with one flight,” Near Space Labs CEO Rema Matevosyan.

AZ Mirror | AI-powered balloons have been photographing Arizona homes for insurance risk assessments

More than 70% of New York City voters approved a charter amendment to consolidate and digitize its city maps. Supporters say digitized maps will help boost its housing supply. Currently each borough is in control of their own paper maps. Yes, paper maps in 2025. 

Route Fifty | Voters approve digitized New York City map amid affordable housing push

Spain is creating affordable living spaces for creatives by converting old industrial sites. The revamped factories retain architectural heritage, offer co-living for students, remote workers, and creatives. @thebrainypedia

Housing Evolutions | TRANSFORMATION OF THE WAREHOUSE BUILDING TO SOCIAL HOUSING AND CULTURAL COMPLEX

Let’s take a peak at how different states and cities are tackling housing affordability for teachers.

California school districts own more than 75,000 acres of land for potential housing developments. Thanks to the California’s Teacher Housing Act of 2016  school districts have the framework to do so.

“In Fort Stockton, a small, rural town in West Texas, the school district bought a motel in 2022 and converted it into teacher housing.

Since 2020, educator housing has been proposed or developed in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and South Carolina.”

GoodGoodGood| From tiny homes to factory renovations, cities build subsidized housing for teachers

A new regulation in Kentucky prohibits hunting or fishing by drone. Wisconsin and Colorado also prohibit hunting and fishing by drone.

Kentucky Lantern | Kentucky bans drones from being used to take fish or wildlife

A city in North Carolina installed surveillance cameras to fight crime. Local officials raised alarms over personal privacy. The local officials voted unanimously to cancel the contract. 

Local officials were also concerned by a contract provision that local officials say allowed the company to override the decisions of local officials. 

GovTech | Hillsborough, N.C., Cancels Surveillance Camera Contract

The Supremes, AKA the Justices of the United States Supreme Court, are going to weigh in on foreclosure sales. Specifically whether when the government retains a surplus from a foreclosure sale, is that a violation of the Takings Clause? And, whether low sales prices at a foreclosure sale violate the 8th amendment prohibition against excessive fines. Pung v. Isabella County, Michigan. 

Scotusblog

Missouri Department of Conservation has warned hunters and fisherman that there will be fewer private property locations to hunt and fish as the shutdown has ceased funding for the Missouri Outdoor Recreational Access Program.

45,000 homes have been bought since 2001, at a cost of nearly $4 billion through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s property buyout program. For every $1 invested in the program, disaster recovery costs are saved by an estimated $4-$6 dollars.

The Conversation | FEMA buyouts vs. risky real estate: New maps reveal post-floodmigration patterns across the US

Hawaii has a plan to build 64,000 affordable homes quickly. How? Use state land and stream line permitting. The plan is coupled with the Governor’s emergency proclamation on housing was even bolder.

Governing | Hawaii Governor Wants to Build 64,000 Affordable Homes. Can He Deliver?

Atlanta’s mayor has announced a Neighborhood Reinvestment Plan backed by $5 billion from property tax reallocation. The impetus of the plan? The significant health disparities, including a 20 year life expectancy gap, between neighborhoods 7 miles apart.

The $5 billion in funding will support affordable housing, transit, parks, health centers and local business development.

Hedge funds speculating on wildfire insurance claims in California were just dealt a legal blow, after the state adopted new legislation designed to stifle such bets. @bloombergbusiness

What is a zombie mortgage? a long-dormant debt, often from a second mortgage or home equity line of credit, that unexpectedly reemerges years after homeowners assumed it was settled.

A lawsuit by mortgage lenders and other trade associations is asking a court to declare unconstitutional a California prohibition against reawakening these dormant zombie mortgages. 

The property rights advocates say these debts are typically already cleared and come back to life like zombies when property owners believe them to be settled and final.

CU Today | California CU League Joins Fight Against ‘Zombie Mortgage’ Law, Suit Claims Law Is ‘Unconstitutional’

San Diego County has found that ADUs account for 30-45% of all new building permits in the unincorporated areas of the county. ADUs also account for more than 50% of all affordable housing. 

How did we get here? State requirements to improve zoning flexibility are credited for the rise in ADU numbers. 

Governing | ADUs Power San Diego County’s Housing Increase

Remember how a certain gold colored Bible was said to also include the Constitution? Remember how these were making their way into schools? Turns out the copies sent to school districts in Oklahoma did not include Amendments 11-27. This makes my lawyer brain want to implode.

Governing

12 Attorneys General have filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Court to take up an eminent domain case concerning North Dakota ranchers. Courts awarded the ranchers compensation that more appropriately reflected fair market value, but an appeals court said North Dakota law concerning attorney fees did not apply to a private pipeline. Big compensation decision a possibility this term for the Court.  

IJ.org | Twelve State Attorneys General Urge Supreme Court to Hear McKenzie County Eminent Domain Case

A new poll by the Economist/YouGov shows that 68% find it inappropriate for the government to pressure broadcasters to remove shows that it disagrees with.

Wager a guess at how many pickleball courts there are in the U.S.? If you said more than 68,000. You would be correct. There are more than 270,000 tennis courts. From a land use perspective, you can put 4 pickle ball courts in the place of a single tennis court. The  Santa Monica Pickleball Center says it receives 7 times as much revenue from pickle ball as it does from tennis.  Seems like less space required with more revenue. If you’d like a deep dive into the economics of pickleball:

NY Times | How Pickleball Took Over Thousands of Tennis Courts, as Seen From the Sky

There’s a conversation in Indianapolis about using eminent domain to preserve urban forests. The city has 4% park land. The national city average is 15% parkland. We’ve chatted about how cities are planting trees to lower the temperature. I do not know who likes oppressive heat, but I can tell you for certain that it is absolutely not me. As such, I’ll go out on a limb and say “yay! Trees.”

Indystar | Save urban forests

After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Florida passed legislation to disaster proof their building code, which has saved the state $1 billion annually. . “In 1996 Gov. Lawton Chiles established the Building Codes Study Commission, bringing together state officials, builders, fire safety experts, insurers and engineers to chart a new course. By 2002, Florida had launched its first statewide building code, consolidating the 67 counties and more than 400 municipalities into a single standard rooted in model building codes developed by the International Code Council, a national building safety nonprofit.”

Governing | The Disaster-Resilient Building Codes We Need

What happens when surveyors damage your land or improvements? Hypothetically, like when surveyors have pre-condemnation access before property is seized by eminent domain. In Montana, property owners will now have 6 years to file suit for damages thanks to SB 143.

The goal of SB 143 is to ensure safer construction and surveying by utilizing more rigorous safety and quality standards so as to avoid lawsuits under this bill.

Texas Attorney General Opinion KP-0498 answers whether zoning changes require notification to property owners within 200 feet, whether or not the property is within city limits. The answer: Yes, notification is required to the owner listed on the municipal tax roll.

RQ-0611-KP will answer whether the foreign ownership limitations in SB 17 apply to a publicly traded corporation that is headquartered outside of Texas with co-founders who hold dual citizenship with countries listed in SB 17.

Akron, Ohio invested in a $17 million park restoration as they seek to promote downtown growth. Akron’s downtown is small, but has an outsize impact on the economy and culture of the city.

A Brookings fellow notes that improving public spaces along with land use reforms are key to downtown recoveries.

Governing | Akron Bets Big on Parks to Revitalize Downtown

Fremont, California is one of the first cities to use AI to help secure flood insurance. Floods are difficult to predict. AI steps in to help design a “parametric flood policy.” These policies payout based on trigger events no on post-disaster assessment by an adjuster.

Governing | How AI Helped a California City Insure Against Flood Risk

Florida has a growing population of invasive Burmese pythons. Conservative estimates say Florida has tens of thousands pythons on the loose. This is the stuff that haunts dreams. To handle the python attack, South Florida Water Management District began using robotic rabbits to lure in the pythons.

Route Fifty | Florida enlists robot bunnies to manage invasive pythons

Florida lawmakers are proposing to abolish all Home Owner Associations. The Florida state legislator, who has been working to amend state HOA laws, says that HOAs are a “failed experiment” that, after decades of abuse and mismanagement, “does more harm than good.”

Texas based conservatives are on social media supporting it.   

Tampa Bay 28 | Florida lawmaker floats ban on HOAs amid growing backlash

Ranchers in North Dakota are taking their eminent domain case about just compensation and attorney fees to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Here is who we got here: A pipeline company made an offer that seemed way too low to the ranchers. The trial court agreed with the ranchers and admitted into evidence market rate data for pipeline takings. Following this legal arguments were traded about whether the pipeline must pay the ranchers attorneys’ fees per North Dakota law. A bunch of legal Abracadabra and now Leonard Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. My oh my what will a conservative court do with private property takings by a private entity?    

Ij.org | Leonard Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission

In 2020 to mitigate wildfires , Oregon adopted a plan to map the state for wildfire vulnerability. This led to wildfire risk identification of properties that allegedly led to home insurance rate increasing, home value declining, and property owner dissatisfaction. Was all this misinformation? Whether the information is true or false, the information produced a result— Oregon has retracted the wildfire maps.

ProPublica | How the Rapid Spread of Misinformation Pushed Oregon Lawmakers to Kill the State’s Wildfire Risk Map

First we heard of pickle ball court conversions for abandoned malls. Now comes turning malls into urban farms that use hydroponics and vertical farming. @wildheart _500

Pittsburgh is utilizing AI to expedite affordable housing as local demand continues to grow. The local housing authority is critically understaffed to handle applicants and their housing vouchers. To expedite the process, they have the of incorporating AI into their process to reduce errors and get people housed quickly.

Route Fifty | Pittsburgh to launch AI pilot to expedite affordable housing applications

Texas A&M Real Estate Research Institute looked into whether property values are impacted by wind and solar installations. The result? Like a lawyer would say, it depends. Negative impacts occur when the wind or solar project is visible from the property. If property is near a project, but it can’t be seen, the impact is not much. Basically, we need more research and more data

TAMU Real Estate Research Institute | Wind and Solar Power and Their Impact on the Value of Nearby Properties

@Reuters interviewed 14 people in construction – CEOs, trade association officials and site supervisors – who said the [ICE] raids are causing project delays and cost overruns and exacerbating existent shortages of skilled labor.

Cities are saying it is too time consuming for staff to visit and analyze property, so AI is being used to determine the value of your property for property tax purposes. 

Bonjour, City Detect which provides of AI-enabled property and code enforcement solutions, to evaluate property conditions. 

The Geospatial Professional Network says “it is important to ensure municipalities establish policies for the use of AI, especially with the potential for the applications to replace staff. The models also need to be trained accurately to produce the best results, this still requires validation of the data.”  

Route Fifty | Why cities are turning to AI for property assessments

Ancient lights is an English law dating to the 1600s that allows a property owner who has enjoyed light from a window for 20 years to have protection from that light being blocked. Britannica wants us to know it was not popular in the U.S. But you know it sounds an awful lot like some proposed local building ordinances in Texas.

Let’s look at construction data from a state that passed school choice/school vouchers. Florida passed school choice in 2011. ALEC says after the state passed school choice, 750 new private schools were built.

Did you know that the 2024 Republican platform does not contain the word property? A change is afoot.

A law professor at UC Berkeley notes “Conservatives seem comfortable with local efforts to keep farmers from using their property for solar panels or wind turbines.  They also seem OK with forcing business owners to allow people with guns on their land. Again, I’m not saying that belief in property rights has vanished altogether, but it’s not part of the MAGA agenda either.”

Legal Planet | When Did Property Rights Drop Off the Conservative Agenda

2025 has seen a 44% increase in the number of foreign home purchases in the U.S. from April 2024 to March 2025. Most of these purchases are occurring in Florida.

This week a report from the National Association of Realtors found that overseas buyers invested $56 billion in residential property in the 12 months ending in March, jumping 33.2% year over year.

Washington State became the 2nd state to ban English ivy. It seems that English ivy devours native plants.

Washington State Standard | English ivy added to list of plants that are illegal to buy or sell in Washington

After a veto of a data center bill in Virginia, York County adopted its own local rules for locating a data center. These local rules include letters from energy and water companies stating whether or not they can handle the needs of the facility when running at full capacity; sound studies; set backs; vegetative buffers; and a 5 year report on the impact of energy and water use. This sounds a lot like what we talked about in Kansas City where a data center development project negotiation also included similar  land use terms, doesn’t it?

Virginia Mercury | Virginia doesn’t have statewide data center regulations. Localities are making their own rules.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds vetoed HF 639 (IA |2025) stating that the bill goes beyond blocking eminent domain for CO2 pipelines, and prevents voluntary easements from being used as well.

There’s a line of thought that cities and states can save money by creating their own buyout plans for homes in flood plains. The thought is frequently flooded homes can raise insurance rates, federal funding is slow to nonexistent, and adds cost burdens to strained local budgets. Local/State buy out programs for homes in flood plains will ultimately reduce costs.

Governing | The Case for Paying Americans to Move Out of Floodplains

Ever wondered if it is a compensable taking if a road project impedes your access to your property? What about if a road project changes access to your property? An Indiana Court ruled that impeding access to property is a compensable taking; however, making it harder to access your property by changing road patterns is not a compensable taking.

Harvard law School | Joseph William Singer | Impeding access to one’s land is a taking but changes in traffic patterns are not

Meet Resting Reef, a start up, that turns pet remains to reefs to improve marine biodiversity. Providing for sustainable and meaningful burial methods.

“Cemeteries should be places that reconnect us with nature and remind us that we’re part of a larger ecosystem,” Murillo Pérez told The Guardian. “It’s time for the death industry to change: we want to shift the industry from focusing on death to life and regenerate growth.”

GoodGoodGood.Co | This startup recycles pet ashes into artificial reefs to save marine life. Human remains are next

Add California to the list of states seeking to cap the number of residential properties that institutional investors can hold in the state. The cap proposed in California? 1,000. @socals AB1240 (2025 | CA)

A Kansas City, Kansas business park proposal would house a massive data center. The proposal ensures that nearby homes are 500 feet to 1,400 feet from the nearest data center building.

Route Fifty | Kansas City, Kansas, planning commission advances proposed $12.6B data center

Arizona’s governor vetoed a bill that would have prohibited land ownership by persons/entities from China. The  veto letter for Senate Bill 1109 states,“However, this legislation is ineffective at counter-espionage and does not directly protect our military assets.Additionally, it lacks clear implementation criteria and opens the door to arbitrary enforcement.”

AZ Mirror | Hobbs vetoes bill banning China from owning land in Arizona

Oklahoma’s Governor is deciding whether to sign a bill, HB 2752, that prohibits the use of eminent domain by wind turbines energy facilities, solar energy facilities, battery storage facilities, hydrogen gas facilities, or
other renewable energy facilities on private property.

Oklahoma Energy Today | Bill to limit eminent domain by wind developers in Oklahoma sent to Governor

Let’s look at opposition to a data center in West Virginia. There’s active opposition that argues the data center “will destroy this place”, harm tourism, harm nature, and that the data center is not being transparent with information to the local community.

Data center representatives say it will be one of the largest data center complexes in the world at over 10,000 acres. Allegedly, the locals found out when the information was published in a paper.  

Route Fifty | ‘It will destroy this place’: Tucker County residents fight for future against proposed data center

The Alabama Supreme Court recently held that a foreclosure sale that resulted in a price that was 15% of market value makes the foreclosure presumptively invalid.

If foreclosure sales should be a better reflection of fair market value, perhaps the argument that eminent domain should also use a fair market value calculation isn’t farfetched. 

Russia is granting property rights to cryptocurrency.  Over/under on legislation like this in the U.S.? By granting property rights to crypto, Russia can seize crypto.

DigWatch | Crypto assets to be treated as property in Russia

 HF 639 is awaiting the Governor’s signature. The bill prohibits the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines, policy arguments included not allowing eminent domain for private gain. In Iowa, the ethanol industry opposes the bill and is pushing a veto.

Des Moines Register | Legislators listened to the people of Iowa. It’s up to Kim Reynolds now. | Opinion

KB Home is marketing a San Diego area neighborhood, Dixon Trail, as “the first purpose-built “wildfire resilient neighborhood” in the United States.” The building specifications follow the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, a research nonprofit funded by the insurance industry. These standards include healthy buffers between each building and scant flammable vegetation.

Governing | Developer Opens Nation’s First Fire-Resistant Neighborhood

The Louisiana Legislature brought a private property rights bill back from the dead this week. The bill protects private property rights by not allowing eminent domain for the building of CO2 pipelines. 

Louisiana Illuminator | Private property owners could get protection from carbon dioxide sequestration pipelines

California cities are embracing AI to automate certain permitting and compliance to build residential housing. The City of Carona partnered with Blitz Permits to use “AI to check electronic permitting documents for errors or missing data, comparing them to the city’s housing and development policies that were used to build and train the model.”

The AI model has output results within five minutes with an accuracy rate of 90%. 

Route Fifty | California city turns to AI to meet housing goals

Republicans in the Iowa State Senate took a stance against using eminent domain which turned into this same group preventing passage of the state budget. Messaging from the group said “the government is for individuals and not corporations” and others “called the use of eminent domain “unjust and unconstitutional.”

OK Energy today | Iowa Senators take unusual stand against eminent domain for carbon capture pipeline

Oklahoma is re-working how land owners can re-acquire their former property after the state condemns it but doesn’t do anything with it.  OK is removing the current requirement that bars repurchase in the first 5 years after it was acquired by eminent domain. A co-author of HB1103 says, “The five-year requirement, if it were to remain, would act as an incentive for the Commission to hold the property for five years so it could be sold at market value, resulting in increased revenue.”

OK Energy Today | Bill Allowing Property Owners to Reclaim Seized Land Signed into Law

Drones, and the data they retain, is a concern for privacy and property rights groups. A police department in Georgia is looping emergency responder drone operators to 911 calls so as to improve public safety missions.

Route Fifty | Law enforcement taps drones to improve response times and safety

A property tax reform proposal in Montana, HB 231 (2025 | MT) , would tax second homes and rentals at a higher rate than owner occupied residential property.

News from the States | Zombies and Frankenstein: Montana Legislature looks to cobble together tax relief

Florida Legislature’s Right to Repair bills, SB 1132 and HB235 (2025 | FL),  appear to have stalled in the Florida House. The Senate Bill handily passed the Senate while the House Bill has yet to receive a hearing. The Senate author is a commercial farmer who says the legislation will give farmers options for repair.

A conservative think tank said there was no need for the bill. “I therefore respectfully urge the committee to recognize the effectiveness of existing market solutions and reconsider whether this legislation addresses a genuine market failure or simply imposes unnecessary regulation on a functioning marketplace.”

Florida Politics | Consumer’s right to repair ag equipment gets OK despite opposition

Florida Phoenix | A look at some bills that are struggling in the Florida Legislature as Sine Die approaches

Snob zoning refers to policies like those in many communities that “have large minimum lot sizes for single-family districts, which encourages building larger homes that sell for more money, and has been linked with racial and economic segregation.” 

Governing | New Hampshire Republicans’ Crusade Against ‘Snob Zoning’

The Colorado legislature is considering  House Bill 25-1235  that would provide for jury trials in eviction cases. The legislation comes after the Colorado Supreme Court  opened teh door for jury trials in eviction cases.

Law Week Colorado | Colorado Judiciary Committee Advances Bill Giving Defendants in Eviction Proceedings a Right to a Jury Trial

A bill in Minnesota proposes licensing requirements for HOA management companies, prohibits foreclosures based on aesthetic fees, and foreclosure limitations. HF1628 (2025 | MN). The bill is a result of the 2024 Working Group on Common Interest Communities and Homeowners Associations.

Fox 9 | Bill to protect residents of HOA’s moving forward in Minnesota Legislature

Texas is a vast state. Passenger rail could make it easier to traverse the great State of Texas. Turns out, to build rail connecting Texas cities, you need to acquire land. And,  that’s a challenge. Texans love their land. Texas Central Rail has “secured only about one-quarter of the land needed for the 240-mile rail line, having acquired roughly 1,600 land parcels, including around 500 single-family homes.”  

Years ago, we talked about a similar situation with the high speed rail project traversing the state of California. They too had a challenge acquiring land.

Statesman | Will high-speed bullet train between Dallas and Houston ever become reality?

4 cities have curtailed algorithmic rent increases. Minneapolis became the 4th, following Berkeley, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Opposition to algorithmic rent increases say that they are a form of collusion. 

It’s not only cities curbing this practice. Colorado’s HB25-1004 has passed a chamber of the legislature and will also prohibit algorithmic rent increases.

Route Fifty | Cities lead bans on algorithmic rent hikes as states lag behind

Earlier this year we talked about states capping how many homes investors could own. Georgia had proposed a 2,000 cap in HB 555 (2025 | GA). Well, Georgia Capitol watchers say the bill is dead.

Georgia Recorder | Georgia housing groups pessimistic over prospects of Legislature reining in investor price squeeze

A bill in Georgia, the Southern state not the country, would require out of state landlords to use Georgia based brokers and have a Georgia based person to handle tenant issues. HB 399 (2025 | GA)

Today, March 21, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear  Bowers v. Oneida County Industrial Development Agency which opens the door to reconsider Kelo v. New London. An amicus brief by the Cato Institute argues that the U.S. Supreme Court “should overrule Kelobecause it is deeply at odds with the text and original meaning of the Public Use Clause and is also marred by other errors.” 

Reason | The Supreme Court Has an Opportunity To Correct Its Kelo Eminent Domain Error

Know what I think of when I think of aging populations? Florida. Legislation in Florida to address housing issues focuses on accessory dwelling units, or granny flats. HB 247 (2025 | FL) would require cities and counties to allow accessory dwelling units in single-family residential areas.

NBC Miami | Florida Legislature considers ‘granny flats’ amid housing problems

We’ve talked about Louisiana’s program for funding hurricane resistant roofs. It was more than a few moons ago… but now Louisiana has seen results.  The state’s Fortify Homes Program offers $10,000 grants for homeowners. The program reduced home insurance rates by 22%. 

Governing | Louisiana’s Roof Grant Program Succeeds in Lowering Homeowners Insurance

San Jose, California mayor is proposing a fee on homeless individuals who refuse shelter 3 times within 18 months. The average annual cost per homeless individual to the City of  San Jose is $65,000, which is more than the city’s GDP per capita.

Governing | San Jose Mayor Proposes Penalties for Homeless Residents Who Refuse Shelter