When a land is placed under a conservation easement, the goal is to preserve it in perpetuity. This legislation helps ensure that remains the case, even when parties seek to condemn land under easement through the eminent domain process.
Specifically, it would require any entity that condemns land held under a conservation or open-space easement to compensate the state for the value of any Virginia Land Preservation Tax Credits previously claimed and the locality for any property tax avoided during the term of the conservation or open-space easement.
After originally clearing the legislature with broad support, Gov. Spanberger introduced bad amendments to this bill, which we urged the legislature to reject in a way that prevented her from vetoing the bill once it reached her desk a second time.
The Senate rejected the amendment and passed the bill in its original form with a bipartisan, veto-proof vote of 32-7; it then cleared the House 74-26 and became law without further action required by the Governor.