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SA Page 23 EMINENT DOMAIN from page 7 ....................................... . Broadened conflict of interest proYi- the Peninsula area, one of whom is a candidate for Biens. The bill adds a new section to the Govern- the State Assembly; and "Initiative reo Eminent ment Code dealing with apparent conflicts of interest Domain", filed by an individual by the name of Anita associated with the use of eminent domain. For Anderson. example, members of the goveming body of a condemning authority would be forbidden from voting on a matter affecting an organization on whose board of directors the member sits, that has an interest in, or to which the public agency may trans- fer, property taken through eminent domain. Partici- pation in such a decision would currently be prohib- ited by the provisions of the Political Reform Act. . Additional findings of "blighf' for ex- tended projects. The bill would amend the Com- munity Redevelopment Law to require that if the time limit on the exercise of eminent domain is extended, resolutions of necessity to condemn property adopted subsequent to the extension would have to find that substantial blight still exists in the project area, and the acquisition of the parcel is necessary for and will directly and substantially assist in eradi- cating the remaining blight. SCA 20 (McClintock). Sen. Tom McClintock, viœ-chainnan of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee and currently a November 2006 candidate for Lieutenant Governor. has been a strong and impassioned opponent of eminent domain for many years. He has been particularly active in proposing changes to eminent domain law since the Kelo decision came down last June. Joined by CalTax representative Jon Coupal and Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby, Sen. McClintock currently has two anti-eminent domain initiatives awaiting title and summary from the State Attomey General. They are: . The California Property Owner Protection Act The Homeowners and Private Property Protection Act of 2006 . Two additional eminent domain measures have been filed by other parties, and they also await title and summary. They are "The Califomia Eminent Domain Limitations Act," filed by two individuals from Last month Sen. McClintock also introduced SCA 20, a constitutional amendment that would all but eliminate the authority of redevelopment agen- cies to use eminent domain. It contains the same language as The Homeowners and Private Property Protection Act of 2006, one of the voter initiatives he has filed with the Attomey General for "title and summary" prior to circulating petitions to qualify it for the November ballot. Among other things, SCA 20 would change the legal definition of "just compensation," significantly increasing the cost of building roads, highways, transit, schools, parks, libraries, and other public works projects. Its scope covers all government acquisitions and not just redevelopment. Currently, if a governmental agency must con- demn property to complete a public works project, it is required to pay "just compensation" to the dis- placed property owner. Under Califomia law, just compensation is defined as "fair market value" of the property being acquired. However, this measure seeks to change the legal definition of "just compen- sation" and would require govemment agencies to pay significantly more-at the taxpayers' expense. SCA 20 redefines "just compensation" to include: . Cost of acquiring comparable property - even if "comparable property" is signifi- cantly more expensive than the fair market value of the property being condemned. Loss of income, relocation costs and loss of business goodwill would be embedded in the state constitution. Attomey's fees in any case where a jury awards even one dollar more than the agency's offer. . . PAGE 8 . PRIORITY FOCUS February 3, 2006 - Issue IS Visit the League's Official Website--www.cacities.org '. __"_..H' .,__..--_n..- ---"'--.-.-... .__..,__,_..n,_--_,..,"n.. --.. , --........,...".-----.-"--..,.." ...--..,,-----__..___m...