Senate OKs bill to end mining eminent domain

The state Senate on Thursday voted 20-1 to approve a bill that would strip the right of eminent domain from mining companies.

Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, sponsored Senate Bill 86 after learning about an Elko County court case in which a mining company was seeking to use eminent domain to acquire property from a ranch.

The case, which was settled out of court, prompted a broader discussion about a 130-year-old law that was added when mining dominated state politics and the economy. It was rarely exercised in modern history.

Leslie’s bill gained momentum after Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, and other Republicans critical of eminent domain signed on in support.

The bill also strips the defunct sugar beet industry of the same right and strikes language in state law that says mining is of "paramount interest" in Nevada.

Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, whose Elko County district is the heart of Nevada mining country, was the dissenting vote.

A similar bill by Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, is in the Assembly. Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, has not stated whether he would sign such a measure.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL