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S1383......................................by LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TAXATION
EMINENT DOMAIN - Amends existing law to provide for the award of attorney's
fees and costs if, in eminent domain proceedings, the award of damages is
higher than the amount originally offered to the owner.
02/08 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/09 Rpt prt - to Loc Gov
02/17 Rpt out - to 14th Ord
03/29 Rpt out w/o amen - ret'd to Loc Gov
S1383
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-fifth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2000
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1383
BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TAXATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES IN EMINENT DOMAIN PROCEEDINGS; AMENDING SEC-
3 TION 7-711, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE AWARD OF ATTORNEY'S FEES AND
4 COSTS IF CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES OCCUR; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
6 SECTION 1. That Section 7-711, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7 amended to read as follows:
8 7-711. ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES. The court, jury or referee must hear such
9 legal testimony as may be offered by any of the parties to the proceedings,
10 and thereupon must ascertain and assess:
11 1. The value of the property sought to be condemned, and all improvements
12 thereon pertaining to the realty, and of each and every separate estate or
13 interest therein; if it consists of different parcels, the value of each par-
14 cel and each estate or interest therein shall be separately assessed. For pur-
15 poses of ascertaining the value of the property, the assessed value for prop-
16 erty tax purposes shall be used as the minimum amount for damages unless the
17 court, jury or referee finds the property has been altered substantially.
18 2. If the property sought to be condemned constitutes only a part of a
19 larger parcel, the damages which will accrue to the portion not sought to be
20 condemned, by reason of its severance from the portion sought to be condemned,
21 and the construction of the improvement in the manner proposed by the plain-
22 tiff.
23 3. Separately, how much the portion not sought to be condemned, and each
24 estate or interest therein, will be specially and directly benefited, if at
25 all, by the construction of the improvement proposed by the plaintiff; and if
26 the benefit shall be equal to the damages assessed, under paragraph 2., the
27 owner of the parcel shall be allowed no compensation except the value of the
28 portion taken; but if the benefit shall be less than the damages so assessed,
29 the former shall be deducted from the latter, and the remainder shall be the
30 only damages allowed in addition to the value.
31 4. If the property sought to be condemned be for a railroad, the cost of
32 good and sufficient fences along the line of such railroad, and the cost of
33 cattle guards where fences may cross the line of such railroad.
34 5. As far as practicable, compensation must be assessed for each source
35 of damages separately.
36 6. If the property sought to be condemned is private real property activ-
37 ely devoted to agriculture, the damages which will accrue because of the
38 costs, if any, of farming around electrical transmission line structure(s) for
39 a transmission line with a capacity in excess of two hundred thirty (230) KV
40 (kilovolts). If the property sought to be condemned has been the subject of a
41 previous condemnation proceeding or proceedings for electrical transmission
42 line structure(s) and at the time of condemnation the field holds other elec-
43 trical transmission line structure(s), such evidence of costs referred to
2
1 above may also include the cumulative effects, if any, of conducting farming
2 operations around other electrical transmission line structure(s) in the same
3 field, whether such structure(s) are of the condemner or not.
4 7. Attorney's fees and costs shall be awarded to the owner of property if
5 the award of the damages by the court, jury or referee is higher than the
6 amount originally offered to the owner by the entity seeking the condemnation.
7 The amount of attorney's fees and costs awarded shall be ten percent (10%) of
8 the fair market value of the property being condemned.
9 SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby
10 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its
11 passage and approval.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS09511
The purpose of this legislation is to provide that in Eminent Domain proceedings,
attorney's fees and costs equaling 10% of the fair market value of the property
being condemned shall be awarded to the owner of property if the award of the
damages by the court, jury or referee is higher than the amount originally offered
to the owner.
FISCAL NOTE
It is difficult to assess the total impact of this legislation since government entities
do not keep records of persons who are not paid fair market value for their
property.
CONTACT: Senator Gary J. Schroeder
332-1321
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL IMPACT S 1383
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/ FISCAL NOTE