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Be Careful What You Wish for Seems to Be Effect of Court Decision on Redevelopment

Byuclafaculty

In an earlier post today, yours truly noted that the California Supreme Court was going to issue a ruling on redevelopment agencies that had potential consequences for the state budget.  Please look at that post for background details.  The opinion (with only one dissent) has now been posted.  It may be that the redevelopment agencies will regret a) supporting Prop 22 which supposedly protected their funding and b) asking the Court to invalidate the compromise deal worked out in the legislature.
The Court – based on a non-lawyer reading – seems to say that 1) the legislature had a right to abolish the agencies but 2) it had no right to require them to pay tribute to avoid being terminated.  The court seems also to have delayed the effective termination date.  (See pp. 51-52 of the opinion – link below.)  So maybe the legislature will come up with some other deal.  Thus, exactly what the eventual consequences for the state budget – and thus the UC budget –  may be are uncertain.
The court decision, for those with better legal minds, is at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S194861.PDF
A preliminary summary from the Sacramento Bee – which leaves the above ambiguities intact – is at http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/12/california-high-court-says-state-can-eliminate-redevelopment.html

The preliminary summary from the San Francisco Chronicle seems to suggest that the redevelopment agencies are gone.  I don’t think that is quite so – as noted above, the legislature can still work out something: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/29/BA6R1MI73D.DTL

The LA Times version is similar to the Chronicle’s: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/california-supreme-court-redevelopment-agency-ruling.html

The LA Business Journal’s account refers to possible legislative action to save redevelopment agencies: http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2011/dec/29/court-upholds-brown-plan-dissolve-redevelopment-ag/

Maybe the lesson for all concerned in this case is sometimes its better to leave things alone:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWPx-fw0mI8&w=320&h=195]

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