California Family Minute

Beginning at 1:00 today in the California Legislature, discussion will take place on the budget, with a potential vote. A release from Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries (R-Murrieta) casts doubt on whether a vote is truly planned, or whether the call for a budget is “for political purposes only.”

According to Jeffries, members of the Legislature are “yet to see any detailed language or analysis of the budget.” In order for Governor Jerry Brown to raise taxes on California’s citizens, the people must approve it. And Gov. Brown needs 2/3rds of the Legislature to approve such an initiative. Currently, he lacks any Republican votes, and it is believed that today’s budget “drill” is attempting to put pressure on a few Republican legislators to align with the Democrats.

There is a group of five Republican leaders, called the Rogue 5, who may be willing to vote for the ballot initiative, but they are waiting for Gov. Brown to offer significant compromises regarding pension plans for government employees. 

At least one separate bill – Senate Bill 77 – is also scheduled for a vote, related to funding for redevelopment agencies (RDA). Nearly three-quarters of a billion state budget dollars are annually used for the staffing and administration of community redevelopment agencies. Gov. Brown would like to discontinue this funding, but he is receiving strong resistance. 

Many recent articles claim that redevelopment agencies are the primary drivers of using eminent domain to go after non-tax producing entities or tenants, such as churches and non-profit organizations. A recent example is the California city of Cypress and its RDA that went after Cottonwood Christian Center’s property in order to bring in tax revenue from a proposed Costco retail center. This release from African-American political commentator Thomas Sowell describes his perspective on how RDAs negatively affect black populations.

Time is short, but if you would like to phone or fax your legislators about their potential vote on redevelopment agency funding in our state budget, click here to find their contact information.