Walters’ Homeowner Protection Bill Killed By Committee

Yesterday, the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development failed to pass a measure, Assembly Bill 1990, authored by Assemblywoman Mimi Walters (R-Laguna Niguel), which would have provided protection for homeowners recently exposed to eminent domain abuses subsequent to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. City of New London.

In the Kelo decision, the Supreme Court greatly expanded the definition of “public use” to include a local government’s ability to generate more tax revenue. “Taking private property for ‘revenue enhancement’ and calling it a ‘public use’ is NOT a legitimate use of eminent domain,” stated Walters in her testimony. “For the first time in our nation’s history, the Supreme Court decided that private property could be taken to increase local tax revenue. This decision has opened the floodgates for other cities seeking to increase their tax base at the expense of homeowners. This is not what the Framers of the Constitution intended when they wrote the Fifth Amendment, nor is this what they intended when they reluctantly granted local governments the power of eminent domain.”

On a party line vote of 2-5, Legislative Democrats killed AB 1990, stating that the homeowner protections in the bill were overly broad. “For the first time in our nation’s history, the Supreme Court decided that private property could be taken to increase local tax revenue. This has opened the door to abusive overreaching by government with the power of eminent domain,” Walters concluded.