The San Benito County Board of Supervisors today voted to take officials stances on state ballot issues Proposition 98 and Proposition 99 involving private property rights, with a unanimous favoring of one and a split vote on the other.
Supervisors voted 4-0 vote to oppose Proposition 98 and 2-2 on Proposition 99. Supervisor Don Marcus was absent.
According to the board agenda, the proposal was to oppose Proposition 98 and support Proposition 99. Members of the community said they were surprised by that.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho said that Proposition 98 was so broad and he was having a hard time justifying Proposition 99.
Botelho asked for a division of the two propositions. After the vote of 4-0 to oppose Proposition 98, Botelho and Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz voted against supporting Proposition 99.
Proposition 98 would bar state and local governments from condemning or damaging private property for private uses. Proposition 98 requires the government to offer the original owner of the condemned property the right to repurchase the property at the condemned price when it is put to a different use than publicly stated, according to the California Secretary of State's Web site.
Proposition 99 would bar state and local governments from using private property to acquire an owner-occupied residence for conveyance to a private person or business entity. Exceptions would be for public work or improvement, public health and safety protection and crime prevention, according to the state site.
Kristen Tolleson Kristen Tolleson covers San Benito County and education for the Free Lance. Contact her at ktolleson@freelancenews.com or (831) 637-5566, ext. 335.
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