Senator Offers Bill to Save RDAs

A California state senator has proposed a redevelopment agency reform bill as an alternative to a proposal by Gov. Jerry Brown to eliminate the agencies.

SB 286, sponsored by Senator Roderick Wright, D-Inglewood, has the support from RDAs and local governments, according to a statement by Wright.

The bill would increase accountability and limit the size and scope of redevelopment in California, its author said.

Brown has proposed eliminated redevelopment agencies all together and shifting their tax revenue to the state to help close its budget gap. The governor has run into opposition from local governments that manage the RDAs and collect the taxes.

The proposed reforms include changing the definition of blight, which is used to determine whether an area may be redeveloped; prohibiting agencies from collecting school taxes in new project areas, and limiting the land area that could be used for redevelopment.

The bill as written would also prohibit the use of tax increment for things such as golf courses or races tracks.

Wright said redevelopment supports 300,000 new jobs a year, $40 billion in economic activity, and $2 billion in state and local tax revenue.

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California
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