An issue that needs watching, as it is vital that government be able to seize land, with due remuneration to the owner, for important public projects.
Governor worries over bid to limit land seizures
By Kevin Yamamura - Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, August 22, 2007
A proposed initiative limiting how governments seize private property has drawn concerns from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a Republican state senator that it could block construction of dams and a Delta canal.
A legal analysis issued this week by Richard Martland, a former state attorney general official, argues that the eminent domain initiative would prevent government from taking private land "for the consumption of natural resources," including water storage. Martland wrote the analysis for initiative opponents, including environmentalists and local governments.
The initiative is backed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the California Farm Bureau Federation after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2005 allowed cities to transfer property from one private owner to another for redevelopment, enraging property rights groups.
Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis group, charged Tuesday that the Martland analysis was flawed because Coupal believes the initiative does not restrict large public works projects. Proponents have circulated petitions since June and plan to collect the necessary 694,354 signatures without changing the initiative language, he said.
Though the analysis was written for opponents, some state leaders, including one who backed an unsuccessful eminent domain change last year, say the initiative's wording raises eyebrows and demands further legal interpretation.
