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<br />8A <br />Page 2 <br /> <br />'ACA 8' Continued from Page 1... <br /> <br />De La Torre's office reported Wednesday that the final vote was 45 for and 31 against, falling <br />short of the 54 votes needed needed for constitutional amendments. <br /> <br />Assembly Member De La Torre did an outstanding job reaching out to all legislators in an effort to <br />make this a bipartisan bill. ACA 8 had been recently amended to include new protections against <br />eminent domain for homes, small businesses, houses of worship and farmland, addressing <br />concerns expressed by Republicans. <br /> <br />ACA 8 and its companion statutory measure AS 887 (De La Torre) are supported by Californians <br />for Eminent Domain Reform (CEDR), a broad coalition of groups which includes local <br />government, small business organizations, taxpayer groups, labor, environmental, community <br />and ethnic organizations. <br /> <br />Following Tuesday's vote, coalition members, including the League, expressed disappointment in <br />the outcome. <br /> <br />"ACA 8 was solid eminent domain reform, and we'd like to thank Assembly Member De La Torre <br />for his efforts," said League Executive Director Chris McKenzie. "Our coalition has always <br />preferred a legislative solution to solve this issue, and we worked very hard to achieve it. <br />However, it is obvious that certain blocks of legislators don't agree this is a priority the voters <br />expect them to address." <br /> <br />Future Eminent Domain Reform <br /> <br />CEDR will continue to work on efforts to address the critical need for responsible eminent domain <br />reform. <br /> <br />"Our coalition will evaluate our options for going directly to the voters via the initiative process," <br />McKenzie added. "We have been gathering signatures on our coalition measure, the <br />'Homeowners and Private Property Protection Act,' that would provide strong constitutional <br />protections for homeowners against eminent domain reform. Our poling shows this measure is <br />strongly supported by the voters, so we'll take a few days to consider our options." <br /> <br />Signatures are now being gathered for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association-sponsored <br />"California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act" (CPOFPA). Much like last year's <br />Prop.gO, CPOFPA is a "trojan horse" with regulatory takings provisions that would harm local <br />government's ability to protect neighborhoods and the environment. <br /> <br />CPOFPA is fatally flawed, threatening future water projects in the state because it contains <br />provision that would prevent government from securing private land natural resource <br />consumption. <br /> <br />If CPOFPA qualifies for the ballot, however, CEDR plans to make sure that Californians <br />understand the ramifications of the measure which would also eliminate rent control ordinances <br />that are vital for working families, seniors, veterans and others. <br /> <br />"We will be sure to educate the voters about these fatal flaws in the measure," McKenzie <br />stressed. "We're confident that the voters will see though this phony reform and defeat it next <br />June, as they did last year in defeating Prop. 90." <br /> <br />What's Next: <br /> <br />The League of California Cities will continue to issue updates on this issue through the League <br />Web site (Y-'wJ!l!.c~cities.Qffi) and future issues of Priority Focus. <br /> <br />2 <br />