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The state highway department notifies a homeowner that it needs her front yard to widen a public road. The department offers to pay fair market value for the strip of land. What government power is the highway department exercising?

Correct Answer

B) Eminent domain, because the government is taking private property for public use with just compensation

Eminent domain is the government's right to take private property for public use, provided it pays just compensation as required by the Fifth Amendment. Road widening is a classic example of a public use justifying eminent domain.

Answer Options
A
Police power, because the government is regulating land use
B
Eminent domain, because the government is taking private property for public use with just compensation
C
Escheat, because the property is reverting to the state
D
Taxation, because the government is assessing the property

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Related Topics & Key Terms

Key Terms:

eminent_domaingovernment_powersjust_compensationpublic_useproperty_ownership

Related Concepts

Riparian rights concern properties bordering flowing bodies of water (rivers, streams), while littoral rights concern properties bordering non-flowing bodies of water (lakes, oceans).

The bundle of rights describes the rights associated with property ownership, allowing owners to use, control, enjoy, exclude others from, and dispose of the property.

Community property is a form of ownership recognized in certain states where property acquired during marriage is considered equally owned by both spouses, regardless of who earned the money or whose name is on the title.

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