Eminent Domain Report

SB 77 - the budget trailer bill to eliminate redevelopment agencies in California - has been debated on the Assembly floor much of the afternoon.  When it finally came time to vote at a little after 4:00 p.m. this afternoon, it was still unclear whether Governor Brown would receive the two-thirds vote necessary. 

As the votes came in, it became obvious that (1) the votes, as expected, would fall largely on party lines, with Democrats approving the bill and Republicans rejecting it, and (2) that the final result was going to be very close, one way or the other. 

Ultimately, the vote came in with a substantial majority voting yes - but not quite two-thirds.  Rather, Governor Brown fell four votes short, with Assemblyman Chris Norby from Orange County casting the lone "yes" vote from the Republican aisle.  The final tally:  50 yes and 21 no, with 8 abstentions.  (Apparently, there was one person missing; the Assembly contains 80 members, meaning a two-thirds majority requires 54 votes.)

UPDATE, 5:10 p.m.:  Just moments ago, the Assembly voted on several other components of the Governor's plan: SB 74, SB 80, and SB 82 all fell a few votes short, while SB 72 passed, with exactly 54 votes. 

Then, just before 5:00 p.m., SB 74 was called again.  This time, SB 74 passed, with 56 votes.  SB 80 also passed during another vote right at 5:00, with 54 votes, and SB 82 passed, also with 54 votes.

Finally, the Assembly called for another vote on SB 77, the redevelopment bill.  At 5:05 p.m., the Assembly once again failed to obtain the required two-thirds majority; it remained stuck at 50 yes votes. 

I'm guessing this isn't the end.  More to come.