Ask the Expert: Scott Jones

The second session of the 111th Congress is already under way, and landowners have a lot at stake. With that in mind, The Land Report turns to Scott Jones to get the inside scoop on Washington’s next steps. Since 2003, Jones has been the CEO of the Forest Landowners Association (FLA), whose members own and operate some 40 million acres of forestland in 48 states. Founded in 1941, FLA offers education, information, and national grassroots advocacy with the goal of sustaining forestlands from one generation to the next.

With so many bold initiatives taken on by the Obama administration, what are the chances of a climate bill passing this year? Would it benefit forest landowners?

American voters believe that a climate/cap-and-trade bill may cost jobs; as a result, I would not be surprised to see the climate portion of the energy bill removed. If crafted properly, an energy bill could benefit private forest landowners by creating new markets for wood. However, the definition of “woody biomass” still needs to be fixed for landowners to truly benefit from the stripped down version of the bill.

The federal estate tax dropped to zero this year. Do you expect it to return to 55 percent with a $1 million exemption as scheduled in 2011?

There do not appear to be enough votes to bring the death tax back to life in 2010. Sen. Scott Brown’s (R-MA) recent election created a political barrier to retroactive death tax reinstatement. Unless legislative action is taken, the tax is scheduled to permanently return at a rate as high as 55 percent in 2011. But this is an election year, so anything is possible. Polls indicate 65 to 70 percent of Americans want the tax repealed.

Name one other issue landowners should follow closely.

The Clean Water Restoration Act is definitely legislation every landowner should keep an eye on. It seeks to expand the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act by redefining “navigable waters” as “waters of the United States.” The consequences of this bill are enormous, and it has already created a firestorm in the Senate. Strong opposition convinced Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN) to delay introducing the bill on the House side. Oberstar now intends to move the bill through the House by the end of 2010.

Sonia Sotomayor & Property Rights

The current issue of The Land Report takes an in-depth look at Obama Administration and the American Landowner. Since that issue came off the press, the President has already been faced with a crucial task: nominating a replacement for Supreme Court Associate Justice David Souter. His choice? Federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Next Monday, July 13, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin her confirmation hearings. Landowners will be paying particular attention to Judge Sotomayor regarding property rights, in particular, Kelo v. City of New London, the controversial 2005 decision that sparked a national uproar. What will her stance be? Insight can be gleaned from her role in an important test of Kelo that took place in 2006: Didden v. Village of Port Chester.

According to The New York Times:

The case arose from a meeting in 2003 between Mr. Didden, who owned property in Port Chester, N.Y., and an executive of a company that had been designated by the village to develop a 27-acre urban renewal area that included part of the property. What happened at that meeting, Mr. Didden said, amounted to extortion.

Mr. Didden had made arrangements to put a CVS drug store on his lot. At the meeting, the executive, Gregg Wasser, demanded $800,000 as the price for permission to proceed with that project, Mr. Didden said in court papers. The alternative, Mr. Wasser said, according to the papers, was to have the village condemn Mr. Didden’s property so that Mr. Wasser’s company could put a Walgreen’s in the same place.

“Here is a private person standing in the shoes of the government with the power to condemn or not condemn,” Mr. Didden said. “The $800,000 wasn’t going to rehabilitate a public park or build a soccer stadium. It was going into his pocket.”

Mr. Didden refused. The next day the village condemned his property.

As The Times points out, when Didden’s appeal reached the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, his case was rejected with a terse, unsigned decision. The response has not been favorable:

The ruling in Didden is not popular among some property rights and constitutional law professors. Eight of them filed a brief in 2006 unsuccessfully urging the Supreme Court to hear an appeal.

“This is the worst federal court takings decision since Kelo,” said Ilya Somin, who teaches property law at George Mason University and helped write the brief. “It’s very extreme, and it is significant as a window into Judge Sotomayor’s attitudes toward private property.”

Read more at:

“Issue of Property Rights Is Likely to Arise in Sotomayor’s Confirmation Hearings,” New York Times, June 15, 2009

The Land Report Looks at Barack Obama

After analyzing George Bush’s legacy with respect to landowners, scutinizing the inclinations of lawmakers in the 111th Congress, and studying key members of President Obama’s cabinet, it’s time for The Land Report to look at the Commander-in-Chief himself. Read more

The Land Report Looks at the Obama Cabinet

While a few of President Obama’s cabinet nominees remain to be confirmed, others — such as Ken Salazar (pictured) — will exert enormous influence on landowners and have been hard at work since hours after the inauguration. Read more

The Land Report Looks at the Bush Administration

Change. If Barack Obama delivers on his simple campaign pledge, that’s what’s coming to Washington. But George W. Bush offered change of his own — particularly on laws and regulations affecting landowners.

Read more

The Land Report Looks at the New Congress

The 111th Congress, with the strongest Democratic majority in years, was seated on January 6 and already the body is at work on legislation of significant importance to landowners nationwide. Read more

Obama to Nominate Salazar for Interior

Landowners in the West will have one of their own heading up the Interior Department in the new Obama Administration. According to published reports, Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) will be named the 50th Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior later this week by President-elect Barack Obama. Read more

Field Report: The 2008 Presidential Campaign

With Sen. Barack Obama talking about raising long-term capital gains tax from the current rate of 15 percent, it should come as no surprise that some sellers might be a bit more motivated to unload property in the near future. “That’s the big problem—uncertainty from government and economy,” Charlie Israel of Outdoor Investment in Birmingham says. Read more