Good news for opponents of insidious property rights initiatives. “Regulatory takings” initiatives failed in California, Idaho, and Washington (but not Arizona) last night. These measures would have required states to pay landowners for any regulations that devalue their property, crippling zoning regs and environmental protections while costing states billions of dollars. To take advantage of public outrage over eminent domain abuse, these bad boys were stuck on to bans on eminent domain for economic development. In Nevada and Montana, judges blocked the regulatory takings parts. Sucks for Arizona, though. Here’s a state-by-state breakdown.
—April Rabkin