Legislation allows energy companies to take private land

Thomas Jefferson called the seventeenth century political philosopher John Locke one of the “three greatest men who ever lived.” Locke said that “whenever legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people.”

The timelessness of Locke’s stark warning is affirmed by Louisiana Senate Bill 353 authored by Republican Senator Sharon Hewitt. In fairness, Hewitt has both authored and supported some good bills that have served Louisiana citizens well. SB 353 is not among them. It is a hideous piece of legislation that eviscerates the rights of Louisiana landowners under the thinnest of legal and environmental pretexts and allows multi-billion-dollar energy companies to get richer. Click to keep reading…