Meaning it must make its services available
In Texas, “common carrier” pipeline companies have the power of eminent domain, as per the state’s Natural Resources Code. A “common carrier” must provide services to the public for hire, meaning it must make its services available to the general public and not just transport the product (oil, natural gas, etc.) for itself.
However, there are no checks and balances in place to ensure that these companies are actually doing that. Although the Railroad Commission of Texas has finally taken some action to close loopholes in what constitutes a “common carrier,” this will do little to protect private property rights of Texans.
I soon found that it seemed like everyone in Texas who could afford a lobbyist had managed to claim eminent domain. In some cases, if they couldn’t get the land outright, a government entity would take the land through eminent domain and then give it the private entity that wanted it. In a high-profile case in the 1990s, the city of Hurst took 127 homes to expand a shopping mall, and the city of Arlington just used the power a few years ago for the new Cowboys stadium.
Government action like this may seem unconstitutional, but is it?
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 in Kelo v. City of New London, Conn., that economic development was a legitimate “public use.” Significant backlash followed the court’s decision, and since then, most states have taken some sort of action.
But only a few did anything meaningful. Texas’ dog and pony show resulted in a 2009 constitutional amendment that inhibited the government’s ability to take property and transfer it to private entities in most cases, but it did nothing to deter the many private entities that have the power of eminent domain in Texas from abusing it.