Bill Would Let Maryland Authorize Eminent Domain Against “House of Cards”

by Austin Petersen

Hunt or be hunted indeed.

By Nick Sibilla

The popular Netflix series “House of Cards” has filmed its first two seasons in Maryland, thanks to up to $26 million worth in tax credits.  Earlier this year, the show’s production company threatened to “break down our stages, sets and offices and set up in another state” unless state lawmakers provided “sufficient incentives.”

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So Maryland lawmakers countered with their own threat:  using the power of eminent domain to seize the show’s property if it leaves.  In one episode, the mellifluously Machiavellian Frank Underwood even threatens eminent domain to get his way.  But now life is imitating art that imitates life.

While it doesn’t specifically mention “House of Cards,” the amendment would let the Department of Business and Economic Development condemn the “real, tangible, and intangible private property…including contractual interests or intellectual property” of film production companies if they leave the state and have accepted over $10 million in tax credits from the state.  That includes the production company behind the Netflix show.

Del. William Frick introduced it as an amendment to SB 172, the $39 billion Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2014.  “I literally thought: What is an appropriate Frank Underwood response to a threat like this?  Eminent domain really struck me as the most dramatic response,” Frick said to The Washington Post.



The House of Delegates voted yesterday 96 to 42 to approve SB 172, which included the eminent domain amendment, but the state senate refused to concur with that amendment.  The Maryland Senate voted 45 to 1 last week to increase tax credits for movies and TV shows.

Maryland already has some of the worst laws in the nation regarding eminent domain, earning a D from the Institute for Justice.  In one of the most infamous cases, the state legislature approved granting condemnation authority to Baltimore, so they could seize the then Baltimore Colts in 1984.  The threat “spooked the Colts to leave Baltimore; the city would not have an NFL team for another 12 years.”    Will “House of Cards” be the next casualty?

Nick Sibilla is a writer at the Institute for Justice.
















Austin Petersen is a homegrown Missourian with a lifelong passion for liberty. He grew up on a horse farm in Peculiar, Missouri and went on to attend Missouri State University, graduating with a degree in the Fine Arts. After developing a career in media in both New York City and Washington, D.C., he returned to Kansas City, MO, the city he now calls home. In 2016, Petersen appeared on the national stage as a candidate for president of the United States. He took second place in the crowded Libertarian primary behind Governor Gary Johnson and ahead of cyber security maverick John McAfee. During his campaign, Petersen earned many high-profile conservative endorsements, including Mary Matalin, Erick Erickson and Leon Wolf of RedState.com. Petersen also brings decades of professional experience in a wide variety of fields, from content production and media to business and political activism. He is the owner and chief executive of Stonegait LLC, a consulting firm specializing in photo and video services. He was also the director of production at FreedomWorks and an associate producer for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s show “Freedom Watch” on the Fox Business Network. Additionally, Petersen has a national following as a commentator and professional pundit. He is the founder of The Libertarian Republic, a powerful online news source for the public that receives an average of 1 million unique visits monthly and whose podcast, The Freedom Report, receives an average of one million monthly downloads. He is also a frequent contributor on television, appearing on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, MSNBC and on dozens of local radio shows.

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