Crossposted on FLASHREPORT
On February 1, California’s 425 local Redevelopment Agencies will be gone — terminated by action of the legislature and Governor, along with an awesome ruling by the State Supreme Court. Many columns and blog posts have appeared here on Fox & Hounds, or over on the FlashReport, or elsewhere on why the elimination of these agencies is a tremendous public policy victory for the people of California… If there is going to be one last “Hail Mary” play by the California Redevelopment Association or the League of Cities — look for it in the next 72 hours.
Capitol Democrats have their own reasons for not wanting to extend the life of these RDA’s – primarily ending the diversion of tax dollars into the RDA’s. Republicans should be opposing any efforts to throw a lifeline to RDA’s this week for three important reasons…
- The first is that as conservatives, we should be opposing the monkeying around with the free market that is done as local politicians use taxpayer dollars to play “Sim City” — picking winners and losers as if they were feudal lords from the middle ages. This had led, among other things, to a disturbing culture of “crony capitalism” that needs to be purged.
- The second is for the egregious property rights violations that have taken place in the past, and invariably will in the future — taking someone’s house or business over their objections so that politicians can use that property for “more economically attractive” purposes.
- The third is that for decades these RDA’s have been used by local cities to fund increased spending on things that have no nexus to the purpose (however nauseating) of RDA’s. A great example of this is found in a Los Angeles Times story in which LA County Sheriff Lee Baca supports extending the life of RDA’s because so many cities have been using RDA money to pay or backfill the costs of law enforcement in their cities.
Let the RDA’s fade to black. And then Republicans should, like hawks, be watching the discussion about the formation of any kind of “replacements” for RDA’s — and making sure that none of the three elements listed above are present.