Planning and Conservation League Testifies on Environmental Dangers of Proposition 98, Benefits of 99 on the June Ballot

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Traci Sheehan
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League

Last Thursday, the Planning and Conservation League's Tina Andolina, along with representatives from the American Planning Association, the California Center for Environmental Law & Policy, and the California Farm Bureau Federation, testified at the State Capitol on the environmental, water, and land use implications of Propositions 98 and 99, two competing measures that will appear on the June 3rd ballot.

Both of these measures claim to reform eminent domain law by limiting the ability of local jurisdictions to take private property simply to give it to a private developer. However, as Andolina explained to legislators and journalists, that's where the similarities end.

Propositions 98 goes far beyond its stated purpose by eliminating rent control and wreaking havoc on the ability of local governments to build sustainable, healthy communities, control unwanted sprawl, and protect precious natural resources.

One of the most egregious provisions of the proposition prohibits laws or regulations which "transfer economic benefits to one or more private persons at the expense of the property owner," eliminating our state's ability to implement key laws and regulations. PCL's Andolina offered several examples to illustrate how this ambiguous language could wipe out measures designed to protect our environment:

• Laws or regulations that require logging companies to protect rivers and water quality could be invalidated because they transfer an economic benefit from logging companies to the beleaguered fishing industry.

• Laws and regulations to control emissions of greenhouse gases from oil refineries and power plants in accordance with the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 could be prohibited since they may transfer an economic benefit from the polluter to the manufacturers of cleaner technologies.