Free Republic

t's one thing for a government to use its police powers to take a property to make way for a truly public project, such as a freeway, but quite another for it to bulldoze neighborhoods because a developer is coveting the property. The League of California Cities and the California Redevelopment Association, whose members benefit by the current lax standards for eminent domain, funded a campaign in November 2006 to stop Proposition 90, a statewide initiative that would have banned eminent domain for economic development and forced cities to pay compensation for "regulatory takings." Fortunately, supporters of a more traditional,...

A LETTER FROM SENATOR TOM MCCLINTOCK TO CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY DELEGATES Dear California Republican, Since the U.S. Supreme Court's controversial Kelo v. New London case more than two years ago, over 40 states have passed some form of eminent domain reform. Since California has not passed meaningful reforms, it comes as no surprise that the Institute for Justice, the non-profit organization that litigated the Kelo case, reports that the seizing of private property from unwilling sellers is on the rise in California. According to the Center for Responsible Government, the League of California Cities and other redevelopment interests have spent...