A Two-Front Battle for Property Rights

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CONGRESS next term will face increased pressure from property-rights advocates for legislation upholding the constitutional requirement that laws and government regulations not "take" private property without paying for it. Proponents of private-property rights have been invigorated by two significant events this summer.

The first and most significant victory for private-property rights was the Supreme Court's decision in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, handed down last June. In that case an owner of beachfront property in South Carolina demanded compensation from the state when coastal-protection regulations prevented him from building a planned house. The …