Posted on 06/28/2006 12:52:02 PM PDT by calcowgirl
Californians worried about local governments abusing their powers of eminent domain can rejoice in the news that the Protect Our Homes Act has officially qualified to appear on this November's ballot.
The Secretary of State's office announced Tuesday that it had verified 683,712 of about 1 million signatures for the initiative, which would protect individuals and small-business owners from having their land seized and transferred to other private holders.
(snip)
From 1998 to 2003, California seized 223 properties for private development projects on the theory that the properties were "blighted," a requirement for using eminent domain. Most of these were small businesses, churches, farms or nonresidential properties.
The Protect Our Homes Act looks after both residential and small-business property owners, and while it allows government to seize some blighted property, it doesn't allow government to transfer the land to private companies. And by requiring that each condemned property actually be blighted, it puts an end to the government's current trick of seizing nonblighted parcels located in a blighted area.
Despite the overwhelming number of signatures the initiative has received, powerful players are resisting it. Some environmental groups are suggesting the initiative's language would bar government from acting to prevent pollution. ...
Laws against nuisances or pollution would be unaffected by the initiative. And if bureaucrats believe that more-intrusive environmental regulations are necessary, they can keep those regulations in place – so long as they pay people for taking away the value of their land.
Resistance to the initiative has come from other surprising quarters. Some conservative groups have said they want to stop at protecting owner-occupied residences. Others, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have remained curiously silent about the abuses of eminent domain. Perhaps the governor is concerned that the initiative might obstruct his big development plans for the state. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
Yeah, I didn't see that 3rd one in there! Definately vote for that one!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.