§ 57-12-2. Declaration of policy.

(1) It is hereby declared to be the policy of this chapter and of the state, and the Legislature recognizes:

(a) that it is often necessary for the various agencies of state and local government to acquire land by condemnation;

(b) that persons, businesses, and farms are often uprooted and displaced by such action while being recompensed only for the value of land taken;

(c) that such displacement often works economic hardship on those least able to suffer the added and uncompensated costs of moving, locating new homes, business sites, farms, and other costs of being relocated;

(d) that such added expenses should reasonably be included as a part of the project cost and paid to those displaced;

(e) that the Congress of the United States has established matching grants for relocation assistance, and has also established uniform policies for land acquisition under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Land Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, 42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq., to assist the states in meeting these expenses and assuring that land is fairly acquired; and

(f) that it is in the public interest for the state to provide for such payments and to establish such land acquisition policies.

(2) Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to establish a uniform policy for the fair and equitable treatment of persons displaced by the acquisition of real property by state and local land acquisition programs, by building code enforcement activities, or by a program of voluntary rehabilitation of buildings or other improvements conducted pursuant to governmental supervision.

(3) All of the provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to put into effect the foregoing policies and purposes.

Amended by Chapter 306, 2007 General Session