Full Text of Proposition 99 (June 2008
Election)
This initiative measure is submitted to
the people of California in
accordance with the provisions of Section 8 of Article
II of the California Constitution.
This initiative measure amends a
section of the California Constitution; therefore, new
provisions proposed to be added are printed in italic
type to indicate that they are new.
TITLE. This measure shall
be known as the "Homeowners and Private Property
Protection Act."
PROPOSED LAW SECTION 1.
PURPOSE AND INTENT
By enacting this measure, the
people of California hereby
express their intent to:
(a) Protect their homes from
eminent domain abuse.
(b) Prohibit government agencies
from using eminent domain to take an owner-occupied home
to transfer it to another private owner or developer.
(c) Amend the California
Constitution to respond specifically to the facts and
the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Kelo v. City
of New London, in which
the Court held that it was permissible for a city to use
eminent domain to take the home of a Connecticut woman for
the purpose of economic development.
(d) Respect the decision of the
voters to reject Proposition 90 in November 2006, a
measure that included eminent domain reform but also
included unrelated provisions that would have subjected
taxpayers to enormous financial liability from a wide
variety of traditional legislative and administrative
actions to protect the public welfare.
(e) Provide additional protection
for property owners without including provisions, such
as those in Proposition 90, which subjected taxpayers to
liability for the enactment of traditional legislative
and administrative actions to protect the public
welfare.
(f) Maintain the distinction in
the California Constitution between Section 19, Article
I, which establishes the law for eminent domain, and
Section 7, Article XI, which establishes the law for
legislative and administrative action to protect the
public health, safety and welfare.
(g) Provide a comprehensive and
exclusive basis in the California Constitution to
compensate property owners when property is taken or
damaged by state or local governments, without affecting
legislative and administrative actions taken to protect
the public health, safety and welfare.
SECTION 2. AMENDMENT TO THE
CALIFORNIA
CONSTITUTION
Section 19 of Article I of the
California Constitution is amended to read:
SEC. 19. (a) Private
property may be taken or damaged for a public use
and only when just compensation, ascertained by a
jury unless waived, has first been paid to, or into
court for, the owner. The Legislature may provide for
possession by the condemnor following commencement of
eminent domain proceedings upon deposit in court and
prompt release to the owner of money determined by the
court to be the probable amount of just compensation.
(b) The State and local
governments are prohibited from acquiring by eminent
domain an owneroccupied residence for the purpose of
conveying it to a private person.
(c) Subdivision (b) of this
section does not apply when State or local government
exercises the power of eminent domain for the purpose of
protectingpublic health and safety; preventing serious,
repeated criminal activity; responding to an emergency;
or remedying environmental contamination that poses a
threat to public health and safety.
(d) Subdivision (b) of this
section does not apply when State or local government
exercises the power of eminent domain for the purpose of
acquiring private property for a public work or
improvement.
(e) For the purpose of this
section:
1. "Conveyance" means a
transfer of real property whether by sale, lease, gift,
franchise, or otherwise.
2. "Local government" means
any city, including a charter city, county, city and
county, school district, special district, authority,
regional entity, redevelopment agency, or any other
political subdivision within the State.
3. "Owner-occupied residence"
means real property that is improved with a
single-family residence such as a detached home,
condominium, or townhouse and that is the owner or
owners' principal place of residence for at least one
year prior to the State or local government's initial
written offer to purchase the property. Owner-occupied
residence also includes a residential dwelling unit
attached to or detached from such a single-family
residence which provides complete independent living
facilities for one or more persons.
4. "Person" means any
individual or association, or any business entity,
including, but not limited to, a partnership,
corporation, or limited liability company.
5. "Public work or
improvement" means facilities or infrastructure for the
delivery of public services such as education, police,
fire protection, parks, recreation, emergency medical,
public health, libraries, flood protection, streets or
highways, public transit, railroad, airports and
seaports; utility, common carrier or other similar
projects such as energy-related, communication-related,
water-related and wastewater-related facilities or
infrastructure; projects identified by a State or local
government for recovery from natural disasters; and
private uses incidental to, or necessary for, the public
work or improvement.
6. "State" means the State of
California and any of
its agencies or departments.
SECTION 3. By enacting
this measure, the voters do not intend to change the
meaning of the terms in subdivision (a) of Section 19,
Article I of the California Constitution, including,
without limitation, "taken," "damaged," "public use,"
and "just compensation," and deliberately do not impose
any restrictions on the exercise of power pursuant to
Section 19, Article I, other than as expressly provided
for in this measure.
SECTION 4. The provisions
of Section 19, Article I, together with the amendments
made by this initiative, constitute the exclusive and
comprehensive authority in the California Constitution
for the exercise of the power of eminent domain and for
the payment of compensation to property owners when
private property is taken or damaged by state or local
government. Nothing in this initiative shall limit the
ability of the Legislature to provide compensation in
addition to that which is required by Section 19 of
Article I to property owners whose property is taken or
damaged by eminent domain.
SECTION 5. The amendments
made by this initiative shall not apply to the
acquisition of real property if the initial written
offer to purchase the property was made on or before the
date on which this initiative becomes effective, and a
resolution of necessity to acquire the real property by
eminent domain was adopted on or before 180 days after
that date.
SECTION 6. The words and
phrases used in the amendments to Section 19, Article I
of the California Constitution made by this initiative
which are not defined in subdivision (e), shall be
defined and interpreted in a manner that is consistent
with the law in effect on January 1, 2007, and as that
law may be amended or interpreted thereafter.
SECTION 7. The provisions
of this measure shall be liberally construed in
furtherance of its intent to provide homeowners with
protection against exercises of eminent domain in which
an owneroccupied residence is subsequently conveyed to a
private person.
SECTION 8. The provisions
of this measure are severable. If any provision of this
measure or its application is held invalid, that
invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications that can be given effect without the
invalid provision or application.
SECTION 9. In the event
that this measure appears on the same statewide election
ballot as another initiative measure or measures that
seek to affect the rights of property owners by directly
or indirectly amending Section 19, Article I of the
California Constitution, the provisions of the other
measure or measures shall be deemed to be in conflict
with this measure. In the event that this measure
receives a greater number of affirmative votes, the
provisions of this measure shall prevail in their
entirety, and each and every provision of the other
measure or measures shall be null and void.
Restriction on Eminent Domain in
reaction to Kelo v. City of New London
