Ballot Measure 7, an Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 ballot initiative that passed with over 53% approval in 2000, amended the Oregon Constitution

Oregon Constitution

The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights. This contains most of the rights and privileges granted in the United States Bill of...

, requiring the government to reimburse land owners when regulations reduced the value of their property

Regulatory taking

Regulatory taking refers to a situation in which a government regulates a property to such a degree that the regulation effectively amounts to an exercise of the government's eminent domain power without actually divesting the property's owner of title to the property.-United States law:In common...

.

It was overturned by the Oregon Supreme Court

Oregon Supreme Court

The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...

, but Measure 37

Oregon Ballot Measure 37 (2004)

Oregon Ballot Measure 37 is a controversial land-use ballot initiative that passed in the U.S. state of Oregon in 2004 and is now codified as Oregon Revised Statutes 195.305. Measure 37 has figured prominently in debates about the rights of property owners versus the public's right to enforce...

 in 2004 was largely similar. Measure 37 differed from Measure 7 in several key ways:

• Measure 37 did not amend the Constitution.
• Measure 37 gave government the option to waive regulations, rather than reimburse a property owner.
• Measure 37 was retroactive.

Voters in neighboring Washington had considered a similar measure, Initiative 164, in the mid-1990s, but did not pass it.

Oregonians In Action

Oregonians In Action

Oregonians in Action is an organization in Oregon, United States that seeks to reduce land use regulation. There are four legal entities that have used this name, but the one that is most active as of 2006 is the political action committee. Its committee number is 2793...

 ran the campaign supporting Measure 7, after taking it over from Bill Sizemore

Bill Sizemore

Bill Sizemore is a political activist in Redmond, Oregon, United States. Sizemore has never held elected office, but has nonetheless been a major political figure in Oregon since the 1990s. He is considered one of the main proponents of the Oregon tax revolt, a movement that seeks to reduce taxes...

's organization, Oregon Taxpayers United. 1000 Friends of Oregon

1000 Friends of Oregon

1000 Friends of Oregon is a private, non-profit 501 organization that advocates for sustainable communities, protection of farmland and forests, and conservation of natural areas and resources in the U.S. state of Oregon with a focus on land use laws...

opposed Measures 7 and 37.