Last week, the Californians for Property Rights Protections announced they have begun signature gathering efforts to qualify the California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act, an eminent domain reform ballot measure proposed for the June 2008 ballot. The Alliance is a co-sponsor of this measure along with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the California Farm Bureau Federation. This measure would provide comprehensive eminent domain reforms for all California properties. We encourage you to visit the campaign website for more information on the measure and to request a petition to collect signatures – over 760,000 signatures are needed for the measure to appear on the June 2008 ballot.
While private property rights advocates embark on a grassroots effort to collected signatures to qualify their measure, redevelopment interests continue to sneak their so-called eminent domain “reform” package, ACA 8 and AB 887 (De La Torre), through the legislature – doing so in a manner that demonstrates their intent to avoid public participation at otherwise public hearings.
The sneaky maneuvers began when De La Torre’s ACA 8 was moved up from a July 10th hearing in Assembly Judiciary Committee to July 3rd – just 1 day before the 4th of July holiday. Despite opposition from a diverse group that has organized against ACA 8’s many “loopholes,” the measure advanced through the Assembly Judiciary Committee on a 7-3 party-line vote with Republicans opposing the bill.
However, in order for ACA 8 to qualify for the June 2008 ballot, alongside the California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act, the measure must receive 2/3 vote of the legislature, meaning it needs votes from both parties. We hope that our legislators, both Democrat and Republican, will see through what property rights author Tim Sandefur calls “swiss cheese” legislation and oppose it in favor of measures that offer real reforms.
And this week, the redevelopment industry saved ACA 8’s companion bill from what would have been certain failure by moving AB 887 through two Senate committees with little public notice in order to get the votes needed to pass the measure. In a move the Sacramento Bee’s Dan Walters’ calls a “preview on the forthcoming battle,” the Senate Local Government Committee maneuvered around public notice rules to schedule a 9am hearing on AB 887, after it had failed in committee the day before, so that Senator Mike Machado could switch his vote, giving the measure the majority needed to pass out of the Local Government Committee. The bill was then heard, not even an hour later, in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
To learn what property rights experts and others say about ACA 8, visit our website by clicking here and scroll down to ACA 8.
Action Request
ü Write your State Legislators and urge them to oppose ACA 8 by clicking here.
ü Forward this message to 10 friends and urge them to join the Alliance .
ü Know of an eminent domain abuse in your community? Let us know and we will contact your elected officials and encourage them to take the “Hands Off My Home” pledge.
To learn more about the Alliance and to join our statewide efforts to reform eminent domain abuse, visit www.calpropertyrights.com
