Posted on 02/08/2016 2:34:54 PM PST by Whenifhow
When Governor Jeb Bush Ordered The Jack Boots To Action...
Former Governor Jeb Bush has a much more serious eminent domain problem to reconcile than current media reports are discussing.
During his tenure as Florida Governor Bush initiated the largest eminent domain private property confiscation in the history of the Sunshine State.
Bush's action is now costing the State of Florida hundreds of millions in lawsuits and legal fees.
During a period from mid-2000 to January 2006 the Florida Department of Agriculture, at the direction of Governor Jeb Bush, began a program to seize and destroy citrus trees from Florida residents.
The action stemmed from an outbreak of citrus canker, a disease that weakens citrus trees and blemishes fruit. The fruit becomes less attractive and marketable.
[...] the department's tree-cutting crews went through Florida's residential neighborhoods, destroying orange, grapefruit and other citrus trees found within 1,900 feet of diseased trees. Delayed and hampered by lawsuits from homeowners, the campaign failed to stop the disease, which eventually made it to the state's commercial groves. (link)
The program was essentially FDA government authorized jackboots entering the yards and properties of Florida residents and destroying private property "without compensation" for their loss. Any homeowners who did not willingly comply were subject to arrest by law enforcement.
"They came with two sheriff's deputies. They said if you don't step aside we will handcuff you and take you to jail," says John Haire, of Fort Lauderdale, one of several residents challenging the eradication program in court. (link)
Thousands of homeowners were affected and many saw all of their orange, lemon, lime and citrus trees completely destroyed. Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida Dept of Agriculture used "eminent domain" law as the underlying legal principle for their action.
Eventually the Florida State Supreme court ruled the entire process was unconstitutional state eminent domain overreach, and thousands of Florida residents sued the state.
The lawsuits have dragged through the courts for almost a decade, and recently hundreds of millions in compensation have been awarded in Lee, Palm Beach, Broward, Orange and Miami-Dade counties.
In total the state destroyed about 660,000 trees of private property owners.
West Palm Beach judge granted residents $11 million in compensation - Link - $20.17 Million awarded in Orange County - Link - More than $20 million in Palm Beach county - Link - Somewhere between $75 and $80 million in Lee County - Link -
[...] The reason the state is appealing and has appealed in other citrus cases is "no one in Tallahassee has the leadership and courage to say we did our best, in retrospect, we did them wrong, let's move forward," he said.
[...] "This was an actual case, a real case of eminent domain and the state needs to come up with the money," she said. "I think David beat Goliath, and Goliath has got to quit." (link)
As voters in New Hampshire heard on Saturday night, Jeb Bush believes it a horrible thing to seize property from private citizens; yet history would reflect that when Jeb Bush himself was governor of the state of Florida - not only did he order seizures, by force, but Bush also refused to reimburse the residents for the property he unlawfully ordered to be removed and destroyed.
Methinks Jeb doth protest too much....
LOL. I don’t knowif Florida should have done this, but it was for alleged agricultural safety, not to line the pockets of cronies.
Freepers went to Florida in 2002 to protest Gov. Bush taking family farms for his enviro friends!
Is it true that Trump offered to pay the old lady who refuse to leave at a much higher price for the property she own, but when Trump lost the law suit, the old lady left anyway and sold her property at a much lower price
True... we got to remember that not even Donald has advocated being this horrific.
If you really want to talk the crony talk, the tax revenue and political donations really can’t be separated out of this one either. Nobody goes into this kind of thing like Plato.
I live in Florida - it was a valiant effort to save Florida citrus...
So what was the outcome — did the canker die off, what happened to the canker?
And why, at any rate, is the state fighting the property owners. If it was worth it to do this, then it should be worth it to pay the owners.
The only reasonable application of eminent domain is to compel Dem voters to give all their assets up to the highest non-Dem bidder in order to help pay off the national debt. This application of eminent domain may be necessary if we ever wish to take political power away from the liberals.
¿Yeb?’s entire career should be used to determine how the usage of eminent domain should be restricted.
Now how are you going to get God to see it on this level? Just curious.
Yes she was offered millions, wanted more, and the house eventually sold for 530k at auction.
Trump live under a very lucky star. She actually help Trump avoid a very bad investment
One story about it is that her son, who lived elsewhere, kept prodding for more for the property. The deal Donald offered included buying the place and offering housing for life in a Trump property, incidentally.
Bush has an Eminent Domain problem????
Let’s not forget that other brilliant Bush, 43, wrote a Friend of the Court Appeal to the supreme court that sided with the eventual outcome of Kelo vs. New London Ct..
Every Bush is a curse upon this land.
Every Bush should go back to their motherland Prussia.
Trump credits her for that!
Jebbie, Jebbie, Jebbie. :-)
As the irony would have it, it did.
This should not be viewed so much as how wise or unwise she or Donald was, but as God watching over Donald Trump. For him to use it as an occasion of symbolic vengeance (IF he is, and I don’t know the details) would be wrong.
The impetus comes from “spare the rod, spoil the child”. Leftists have ruined the nation, so they must repay. Restrict the usage of eminent domain to apply only to those who cause debt, and only allow the seized assets to be used to pay off the national debt, and you can simultaneously follow the Scriptural mandate and stop government from growing too large.
I think it was quite a few years later she sold out, but yes that’s it.
I think it’ fair to ask those making an issue of it if they support the Keystone Pipeline, which would use eminent domain to take land from owners and give it to a private company. How is that different than Kelo?
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