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No on Prop 98, Yes on 99

We won! Prop 98 lost and Prop 99 passed!

On June 3, Proposition 98 lost with only 39% of the vote, and Proposition 99 passed with 62.5%!

Thank you to all our supporters, for your phone calls, emails, and donations — you made this victory possible.

About Propositions 98 and 99

Proposition 98 threatened California’s communities and environment.
Prop 98 on California’s June 2008 ballot would have had a devastating impact on communities and on the environment.  Proposition 98’s supporters wanted voters to believe the measure is only about changing eminent domain rules, but it was really about so much more. That is why we called Prop 98 the “Hidden Agendas Scheme.”

Proposition 98, the Hidden Agendas Scheme, would have made communities unable to enforce their own decisions about growth and development. Hidden in its fine print was language that would make unconstitutional all laws or regulations that individuals or companies could claim limited the value of their property. Prop 98 would have prohibited laws protecting the environment. It threatened public water projects, and would have abolished rent control and other renter protections.

A broad coalition of civic, environmental, labor, religious, and affordable housing advocacy groups formed to oppose Prop 98. The coalition also supported a competing measure, Proposition 99.

Proposition 99, the Homeowners Protection Act, reforms eminent domain practices to protect homeowners and small businesses—while avoiding Prop 98’s hidden agendas. Prop 99 will prohibit state and local governments from using eminent domain to transfer an owner-occupied home to a private developer.

Prop 99 will do the right thing for homeowners — without Prop 98’s hidden agendas.

Campaign Update

June 2008
Greenbelt Alliance held two phone banks to urge likely Democratic voters in Marin County to vote No on Prop 98, Yes on Prop 99. Fifteen volunteers made 672 calls over the two nights. Our efforts definitely contributed to a strong victory: on June 3, Proposition 98 lost with only 39% of the vote, and Proposition 99 passed with 62.5%.