BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1195|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1195
Author: Cohn (D)
Amended: 2/12/04 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 5-0, 2/18/04
AYES: Torlakson, Ackerman, Hollingsworth, Machado, Soto
NO VOTE RECORDED: Margett, Perata
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Midpeninsula Regional Open-Space Districts
limit
on eminent domain
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill:
1. Prohibits the Midpeninsula Regional Open-Space District
from exercising the power of eminent domain to acquire
any real property or interest in real property in the
San Mateo County Coastal Annexation Area.
2. Makes legislative findings and declarations with respect
to the need for special legislation in the district.
3. Corrects spelling of the district's name in an unrelated
section.
ANALYSIS : The power of eminent domain is a government's
CONTINUED
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authority to take private property for public purposes,
subject to constitutional limits that require due process
and the payment of just compensation. State law allows
regional park and open space districts to condemn real and
personal property, both inside and outside their
boundaries.
The Midpeninsula Regional Open-Space District is an
independent, multi-county special district covering
territory in parts of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa
Cruz counties. The district acquires and preserves open
space and provides hiking trails. Most of the district's
territory is in Santa Clara County but it wants to annex
approximately 140,000 acres in coastal San Mateo County.
Some local residents and property owners worry that the
district will use eminent domain to condemn coastal
agricultural land. In June 2003, the district's board of
directors adopted an ordinance prohibiting the use of
eminent domain in the proposed annexation area. Critics
note that a future board could reverse that local rule.
They want greater assurances that the district will never
use eminent domain in the coastal annexation area.
This bill prohibits the Midpeninsula Regional Open-Space
District from using its eminent domain power to acquire
real property or real property interests in the San Mateo
County Coastal Annexation Area. This bill also corrects
the spelling of the district's name in an unrelated
section.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 2/18/04)
Midpeninsula Regional Open-Space District
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to Senate Local
Government Committee analysis, eminent domain continues to
be one of the most contentious political issues that divide
property owners from their local officials. Despite the
constitutional protections, many property owners remain
deeply suspicious of local officials' power to condemn
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private property. These concerns fueled some of the
opposition to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space
District's proposal to annex territory in coastal San Mateo
County. This bill calms those fears by statutorily banning
the district's use of eminent domain in the proposed
annexation area.
LB:sl 2/18/04 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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