January 16, 2008

Eminent-domain battle imminent

The first - and more far-reaching - of two competing ballot measures restricting seizures of private property by local governments qualified for the June ballot today and the other is on the verge of making it.

The secretary of state's office cleared the "California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act" after counties checked a sample of intitiative petition signatures. It would prohibit nearly all use of eminent domain to take property for private purposes, such as a shopping center, and is sponsored by a conservative coalition, including the California Farm Bureau. Another sponsor is former Sacramento area U.S. Rep. Doug Ose, who's on the verge of mounting a new bid for Congress this year.

The rival measure would bar seizure of owner-occupied residences for private purposes and is sponsored by city officials who say eminent domain is needed to complete vital economic development projects. Its spokeswoman, Kathy Fairbanks, said secretary of state approval is expected later today or Thursday.

Both measures are followups to an anti-eminent domain measure that failed at the polls two years ago, itself a reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court's approval of taking private property for private uses in a Connecticut case.

Posted by Dan Walters on January 16, 2008 2:28 PM