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f7A- --I LEG HEARINGS from page 1 . . . . . . . . . It appears clear that concerns about the use of eminent domain raised in recent months have lead to a broader agenda in the legislature on the use of redevelopment. The first hearing is on the topic "Redevelop- ment and Blight," and will be held on Wednesday, October 26, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Weingart City Heights Library, 3795 Fairmount Ave., San Diego. Witnesses will be asked to present examples of successful redevelopment projects and examples of "abuse" of the current legal definition of blight. Eminent domain issues are also expected to be raised. This will be a joint hearing of the Senate Local Govemment Committee (Christine Kehoe, chair), the Senate Transportation and Housing Commit- tee (Tom Tor1akson, chair), and the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee (Gene Mullin, chair). The second hearing will examine the subject, "Redevelopment Reforms." It will be held Thurs- day, November 17, from 9:30 a.m. to noon in Room 4203 of the State Capitol. Various propos- als for changing redevelopment law are expected to be discussed at this hearing. Eminent domain issues could also be part of this hearing. Again, this will be a joint hearing of the same three committees named above plus the Assem- bly Local Government Committee (Simon Salinas, chair) and the Assembly Judiciary Committee (Dave Jones, chair). It is likely that most of the witnesses at these hearings will be invited by the committee chairs. The California Redevelopment Association will submit suggestions of persons to testify. FEDERAL UPDATE from page 1 . . . . . . . The CR will maintain funding for all federal programs and projects through November 18, 2005. 50 far, only two of the FY 2006 appropria- tions bills have been signed into law. the Interior- Environment measure (PL 109-54) and the Legislative Branch appropriations (PL 109-55) bills. A third, the FY 2006 Homeland Security Appropriations bill, was approved in conference and is expected to reach the House and Senate floors for final passage next week. The 49-day CR would set spending for all other govemment programs at the fiscal 2005 rate, the House-passed level for FY 2006 or the FY 2006 Senate-passed level, whichever was the lowest. House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis (Calif.) organized the extension bill in this fashion in an attempt to encourage the Senate to finalize and pass its remaining FY 2006 spending measures individually, rather than combining them into an omnibus bill. The House passed its versions of all twelve of the FY 2006 appropriations bills before the July 4 recess. The Senate, however, has passed only eight of its FY 2006 appropriations bills, and is working to complete today the floor debate on a ninth, the FY 2006 Defense Appropriations bill. Despite the discrepancy between House- and Senate-passed FY 2006 spending measures and the outstanding workload that Congress must complete before it adjourns, House and Senate appropriators remain committed to passing all of the FY 2006 spending bills individually. The House-passed CR has raised some issues for some senators, who have expressed an interest in amending it. One such amendment raised by Sen. Tom Harkin (Iowa) would have restored a 50 percent cut to the Community Services Block Grant (C5BG) program. The amendment failed by a vote of 39-53. The pro- gram, funded at $673 million in FY 2005, was cut to $320 million in the House for FY 2006. Pas- sage of the amendment would have resulted in a govemment shutdown, because the House has Continued on Page 5 PAGE 4/PRIORITV FOCUS Visit the league's Official Website--www.cacities.org