As a budget vote nears, supporters of redevelopment agencies are once again warning that Governor Jerry Brown's plan to eliminate those agencies is unconstitutional.
Chris McKenzie with the League of California Cities says voters told the state to leave redevelopment funds alone last fall by passing Proposition 22.
“Within months of the electorate telling them not to do something, to go out and brazenly do it, I think, will create a firestorm across our state,” said McKenzie.
But H.D. Palmer with the governor’s Department of Finance says Brown’s plan is legal.
“They are entities that are created by the legislature and they can be dissolved by the legislature,” said Palmer.
He says funds that currently go to redevelopment would be better spent on schools, cities and counties.
Senate President Darrell Steinberg says he’s committed to creating a new economic development tool for local governments, but not until after the budget is passed.
