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Missouri House passes bill against eminent domain use

The Missouri House passed HB 527 Thursday blocking private companies from using eminent domain to acquire land.

The bill, sponsored by Representative Mike Haffner, was created to prevent proposed wind energy project Grain Belt Express from taking private land in northern Missouri.

Democrat Representative Rasheen Aldridge of St. Louis supported the bill saying eminent domain has removed long-time residents from his district.

“For someone or an entity to come in and say that we’re going to, you know, destroy all that history, it’s not fair it’s not right,” he said.

The bill passed by a vote of 123 to 33 and is expected to pass the majority republican state senate. The measure is a priority of Missouri Farm Bureau and the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association.