Few California taxpayers know much about redevelopment agencies and how they spend taxpayer dollars.  This may change as the California State Supreme Court begins hearings today on the future of California’s redevelopment agencies (RDA).

RDA critics, chiefly advocates for private property rights and taxpayers, have submitted an amicus brief with the Court that refers to redevelopment as the “Money Pit,” largely because taxpayers are subsidizing private development, luxury golf courses, sports arenas, and even a Mermaid bar to the tune of over $5 billion a year!

While defenders of redevelopment claim that RDAs are needed now more than ever in these tough economic times, the independent State Legislative Analyst’s Office found there is no reliable evidence that they have created new jobs. All the while, politicians are cutting funding for police and fire protection, parks and classrooms.

There are some 425 redevelopment agencies (RDA) in California, located in almost every city and town. These relatively unknown agencies use their power of eminent domain to forcibly seize places of worship, small businesses and homes, only to give the seized land to politically connected developers on the cheap. In other words, politicians and bureaucrats use your tax dollars to underwrite development projects, corporate welfare at its very worst.

Local government is simply addicted to protecting and growing RDAs. Today, RDAs have claimed over one-third of all urbanized California as blighted, a precondition for eminent domain, all the while these agencies have accumulated over $85 billion (and growing) in debt that makes our State budget shortfall look like chump change. Never mind the fact that if RDAS were successful engines of economic development, they should be running revenue surpluses.

Run like slush funds, RDAs have operated for years, largely under the radar screen. However, this changed this last year when a State Controller audit revealed RDAs to be nothing but threats to private property, run amuck with wasteful spending. A report from the State’s Legislative Analyst Office concluded that counter to RDA’s claims of massive job creation, RDAs do not create new jobs. Yet, State Legislators rushed to redevelopment’s defense – why?

It has been well documented that local government spends more to lobby State Legislators than most other sectors, including unions and oil and health care companies. Also, given that many State Legislators were former city council members, redevelopment agencies have no shortage of “friends” in the State Capitol.

Historically, Democrats have not been too concerned with protecting private property rights given their infatuation with government control of the market.  Democrats should have no qualms with doling out taxpayer dollars to politically connected developers, especially when developers reward them by contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the California Democratic Party.  All of this in spite of the fact that the most common neighborhoods bulldozed for private development are composed of the working poor and ethnic minorities.

In contrast, Republicans are supposed to be the champions of private property rights, taxpayers and a free market system… or so we thought until analyzing this last Legislative session.

Almost like in Alice in Wonderland where up is down, and down is up, this past year Democratic Legislators voted to abolish redevelopment and most Republicans fought tooth and nail to protect 425 redevelopment agencies from being abolished! This is the finding of a legislative scorecard released by California’s leading private property rights organization, the California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights.

It was votes from Democrats, not Republicans that are leading redevelopment reform!  (Sorry Republicans, the argument that because Governor Brown supported the idea, you should oppose it doesn’t wash.)

Key Findings:

Assembly:

• Over the course of two separate votes, only 6 (11%) Republican votes were cast to abolish redevelopment agencies.
• Over the course of two separate votes, 99 (95%) Democratic votes were cast to abolish redevelopment agencies.

Senate:

• Only 1 (6%) Republicans cast a vote to abolish redevelopment agencies.
• 20 (80%) of Democrats cast a vote to abolish redevelopment agencies.

One would think that abolishing government agencies which have failed in their mission to create jobs and contribute to urban renewal would be an issue that unites Democrats and Republicans alike. By saving over $5 billion a year, there would also be less pressure on local and State government to cut critical government services or to raise taxes – a win, win scenario for both major parties. This was not the case.

Under pressure from Governor Brown, who views abolishing redevelopment as a source of funding to balance state finances, Democrats succumbed to political pressure and voted to abolish RDAs. But not Republicans. In doing so, Republicans missed an historic opportunity to eliminate wasteful government spending and to help restore private property rights in California.

Due to the failure of the State Legislature to reform redevelopment abuse effectively, the future of redevelopment is now in the hands of the California State Supreme Court. The redevelopment lobby filed a lawsuit challenging the Constitutionality of ABx1 26 and ABx1 27, legislation that abolishes RDAs and then allows for individual agencies to remain in an existence provided they compensate the State for lost revenue to schools and special districts.

Proponents of reform hope the State Supreme Court rules ABx1 26 Constitutional and overturns ABx1 27.  Doing so will save California property owners from the threat of eminent domain abuse and save taxpayers a cool $5 billion a year!

FlashReport readers are encouraged to visit www.CalPropertyRights.com to see how their State Legislator voted on abolishing redevelopment. If you find that your Assemblymember or Senator voted to use your taxpayer dollars to keep developers on the public payroll, make sure to ask them why the next time they are up for reelection.

To learn more about redevelopment abuse, and why politicians are spending billions of dollars on development projects that are not creating new jobs and accumulating public debt, visit www.StopTheMoneyPit.com.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 10th, 2011 at 4:03 am and is filed under Blog Posts.