(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, suggests he and Republican Governor Kim Reynolds have something in common when it comes to rejecting bills to restrict the use of eminent domain. Reynolds vetoed a bill last month, saying it would impose new regulations on more than just a proposed carbon pipeline.

“The decision she made, if I understand it properly, is that there were deep concerns about the way in which the legislation was crafted and the unintended consequences of such legislation,” Vilsack said, “which is precisely the same reason I vetoed the legislation I vetoed.” In 2006, during his last year as governor, Vilsack vetoed a bill designed to make it harder for cities and counties to use eminent domain authority to acquire land for economic development projects.

Vilsack discussed his veto during a recent appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa P-B-S. “I think there’s a balance between individual property rights, which are really important to protect, and the need for a community to have economic opportunity and the kind of infrastructure that’s necessary for folks to have a quality of life in all parts of the country,” Vilsack said. Vilsack suggests the lack of growth in Iowa’s rural areas is factor in the push back against the carbon pipeline.

“I think if we had a healthier economy for small and mid-sized farming operations, we might not have quite the angst that we have in the countryside today,” Vilsack said, “which reflects itself in the push back on eminent domain.” And Vilsack, who served a dozen years as the U-S Secretary of Agriculture, says the pipeline is about ensuring a future for the ethanol industry.

“Our aviation industry is absolutely intent on having sustainable aviation fuel,” Vilack said. “You cannot make that fuel…cost-competitively unless you basically incent…the ability to basically capture the carbon that’s produced from developing that fuel and redirecting it someplace else.”

A bill President Biden signed in 2022 included 12 BILLION dollars for projects to capture, transport and store carbon. The tax and policy bill President Trump signed this month changed some clean energy tax credits, but the carbon sequestration credits from the Biden era were preserved.