Mississippi voters are set to decide on November 8 whether or not to reform the state’s eminent domain laws to better protect property owners. Only Mississippi, Arkansas, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma have so far failed to act in the wake of Kelo. The Mississippi legislature did pass legislative reform in 2009, but it was quickly vetoed by Governor Barbour.
Mississippians have now taken the matter into their own hands, placing eminent domain reform on November’s ballot by way of Initiative 31. Read more about the initiative in State Senator Chris McDaniel’s op-ed in the Laurel Leader-Call, which cites IJ’s research on eminent domain.