Iowa governor vetoes controversial eminent domain bill

In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds has vetoed House File 639 that sought to limit the use of eminent domain for pipeline projects because she says the way the bill was written, it would also kill projects like the one under development by Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy that rely solely on voluntary easements. She says she believes that the use of eminent domain should be “rare, fair and a last resort” but the bill goes way beyond the question of eminent domain and therefore couldn’t support it.