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DENVER - Gov. Bill Ritter plans to sign a bill aimed at stopping the Army from using eminent domain to expand its troop training ground in southeastern Colorado.
A bill signing was scheduled for Thursday.
Ranchers around the Pinon Canyon maneuver site lobbied lawmakers to pass the bill, which withdraws Colorado's "consent" for the federal government to acquire more land for Pinon Canyon.
The bill cites a provision of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution that requires states to give permission before land can be purchased to build forts, arsenals and dockyards. It seeks to apply that to Pinon Canyon's proposed 654-square-mile expansion - about two-thirds the size of Delaware.
Supporters say the bill will give the state authority to try to stop the Army from forcing owners to sell their property.
Opponents, including the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, worry that the move could someday lead to downsizing at Fort Carson, whose soldiers would use the expansion.
A bill signing was scheduled for Thursday.
Ranchers around the Pinon Canyon maneuver site lobbied lawmakers to pass the bill, which withdraws Colorado's "consent" for the federal government to acquire more land for Pinon Canyon.
The bill cites a provision of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution that requires states to give permission before land can be purchased to build forts, arsenals and dockyards. It seeks to apply that to Pinon Canyon's proposed 654-square-mile expansion - about two-thirds the size of Delaware.
Supporters say the bill will give the state authority to try to stop the Army from forcing owners to sell their property.
Opponents, including the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, worry that the move could someday lead to downsizing at Fort Carson, whose soldiers would use the expansion.
