This report examines the background of the Kelo decision, looks at the current state of eminent domain protections in Texas, and makes recommendations about what must be done to restore the centrality of private property rights that existed when our nation and our state were founded.
Property Rights
Oakland fined this couple $915,000 for preventing fires. That’s 18 times the penalty for actual arson
Imagine buying a piece of property, being ordered by the government to clear it of fire hazards, and then being handed a near-million-dollar bill by that same government for doing exactly what it asked. It sounds like a dystopian satire of bureaucratic overreach, but for Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner, it is a harrowing legal...
August 19, 2026