sb 7 goes to gov. perry

Senate Bill 7, a measure that would forbid state entities from using eminent domain for commercial purposes, passed both the House and the Senate and is on the way for Gov. Perry’s signature.
The bill, which Gov. Perry has spoken in favor for and there is no veto on the horizon, was crafted after the Kelo v. New London U.S. Supreme Court decision that expanded the legal use of eminent domain for economic purposes. The bill was filed during the peak of the UT vs. Players battle, and the bill’s wording is obvious of this.
The bill adds Chapter 2206 to the State’s Government Code placing limits on eminent domain on state agencies, “including an institution of higher education”, as the text reads.
More than that, Section 5 of the bill added Section 51.9045 to the Education Code:

The governing board of an institution of higher education may not use the power of eminent domain to acquire land to be used for a lodging facility or for parking or a parking structure intended to be used in connection with the use of a lodging facility.

The addition includes the definition that “lodging facility” does not include a student dorm. In other words, the law says that UT, or any other state university, cannot take land to build a hotel or a parking garage for a hotel.
In all fairness, the owner’s cousin is in the House but if you read the House journal for that day (the text is not hyperlinked so scroll down to the review of SB 7), there are many mentions that state agencies shouldn’t take land for free-market ventures- hotels mentioned multiple times in the printed remarks from multiple representatives.
In any case, State law should now protect another UT vs. Players event from arising.