Bill Text: CA AB1950 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Task force: former Chavez Ravine property: eminent domain: compensation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-07-09 - Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. [AB1950 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1950-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  July 09, 2024

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 29, 2024

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 10, 2024

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 21, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1950

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Introduced by Assembly Member Wendy Carrillo

January 29, 2024

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An act to add Chapter 16.5 (commencing with Section 7278) to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, relating to local state government.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1950, as amended, Wendy Carrillo. City of Los Angeles: Task force: former Chavez Ravine property: eminent domain: compensation.

The California Constitution authorizes private property to be taken or damaged for public use only if just compensation is paid. Existing law, the Eminent Domain Law, prescribes how that constitutionally authorized power may be exercised for an eminent domain proceeding commenced on or after January 1, 1976, as specified. Under the Eminent Domain Law, an owner of property acquired by eminent domain is entitled to compensation, as provided.

Existing law provides that, whenever a program or project to be undertaken by a public entity will result in the displacement of a person, the displaced person, as defined, is entitled to payment for actual moving and related expenses as the public entity determines to be reasonable and necessary.

This bill would require the City of Los Angeles to create create in state government a task force for the purpose of providing compensation to former residents and landowners known as the Chavez Ravine Displaced Residents Task Force, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, to evaluate the history of the residents, business owners, and landowners displaced from the Chavez Ravine area for the purpose of providing compensation to the persons displaced from the Chavez Ravine area of Los Angeles, as defined, between 1950 to 1961, inclusive, and their lineal descendants. or their descendants in order to develop recommendations for the City and County of Los Angeles and the Legislature regarding how to provide just compensation to the persons wrongfully displaced from Chavez Ravine from 1950 to 1961, inclusive, or their descendants. The bill would set forth the composition of the task force, consisting of 9 members, as specified. Among other duties, the task force would be required to oversee the city’s administration process pursuant to these provisions and to create specified reports addressing various matters related to compensation for former residents and landowners of Chavez Ravine and their descendants.

This bill would require the City of Los Angeles to decide on one of several forms of compensation, including conveying city-owned real property for housing, use, and enjoyment equal to the square footage area of land acquired by the city from the property owners or monetary compensation for the taking of the former landowners’ private property equal to the fair market value at the time of sale or taking, adjusted for inflation. The bill would provide that the compensation would be exempt from taxation and the real property tax.

This bill would require the task force to make recommendations regarding compensation for individuals displaced from Chavez Ravine and strategies for educating the public about the history and impact of the Chavez Ravine displacement. The bill would additionally require the city City of Los Angeles to construct a permanent memorial in recognition of the displaced residents and landowners of the Chavez Ravine community. The bill would also require the city to create and administer task force to provide recommendations regarding consideration of development of a searchable database to access information related to Chavez Ravine, and would require that all sensitive personal information be redacted from the database, as specified. Ravine, as specified.

By imposing new duties on the city City of Los Angeles and city officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require the task force, on or before January 1, 2027, in consultation with the city attorney of the City of Los Angeles, to develop an appeal process for former residents or descendants of Chavez Ravine to appeal to the city a denial of compensation. The bill would authorize a former resident or descendant of Chavez Ravine, after the task force develops that appeal process or beginning January 1, 2027, whichever occurs first, to appeal to the city a denial of compensation in accordance with that appeal process. The bill would also authorize a former resident or descendant of Chavez Ravine, if the city denies an appeal and the former resident or descendant believes that the city improperly denied compensation, to petition a court for a writ of mandate pursuant to specified provisions to compel the city to provide compensation.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Los Angeles.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The United States of America has not fully addressed governmental involvement in redlining, racial covenants, housing segregation, and other discriminatory housing practices experienced by Native, Latinx, Black, Asian, and Pacific Islander communities.

(b) Federal, state, and local governments have deliberately structured the availability of opportunities, implemented policies and practices, and assigned value based on race, physical characteristics, and national origin, which has and continues to perpetuate unjust disadvantages for Native, Latinx, Black, Asian, and Pacific Islander communities.

(c) Systemic discrimination based on race and ethnicity continues to hinder entire communities from realizing their full potential, as evidenced by segregation, Jim Crow laws, and the Undesirable Aliens Act of 1929. Historical practices include state-sanctioned housing discrimination through redlining, and the enforcement of racially restrictive covenants. Additionally, there has been inequitable access to opportunities for social mobility and wealth creation due to poor access to care, health resources, and education for underrepresented communities of color.

(d) These historic inequities have resulted in the deprivation of marginalized communities from access to land and retention of their property rights, economic opportunities, and generational wealth.

(e) Against this backdrop of racially motivated policies, the injustices in the City of Los Angeles (city) communities of La Loma, Bishop, and Palo Verde stand as a stark example, where residents were unjustly removed without proper compensation, epitomizing the ongoing struggle for equity and justice in housing and land rights.

(f) References to Chavez Ravine shall be made throughout this act, yet it is important to clarify that there was no singular “Chavez Ravine” neighborhood. Instead, there were three distinct neighborhoods—La Loma, Bishop, and Palo Verde—that have, over time, been collectively referred to in public discourse and historiography as Chavez Ravine. This act uses the term “Chavez Ravine” as a shorthand to represent the collective experience of all three neighborhoods, acknowledging the historical conflation of their identities.

(g) The Chavez Ravine neighborhood is approximately 315 acres and is in northeast Los Angeles. Chavez Ravine housed more than 1,800 families and is an example of how racial discrimination against people of color reached crisis proportions and resulted in the forced displacement of estimated 3,800 individuals. The displacement of these residents has caused large, long-lasting disparities in housing, family stability, health, mental wellness, education, employment, economic development, public safety, and justice.

(h) Despite the perspectives of outsiders and City of Los Angeles officials, who often labeled the community as a “vacant shantytown,” “The Poor Man’s Shangri-La,” and an “eyesore,” these neighborhoods were, in fact, vibrant and cohesive communities, serving as a hub for homeownership and economic development and growth for people of color.

(i) In 1950, Chavez Ravine’s 315 acres were earmarked by the city as a prime location for redevelopment. The city condemned the community land through the power of eminent domain for the purpose of constructing public housing. That same year, Chavez Ravine residents and property owners received letters from the city demanding the sale of their homes to make the land available for the proposed “Elysian Park project.” The city promised displaced families that they would have the opportunity to return to new homes in the newly redeveloped housing project.

(j) As a result of these intentional acts consistent with a racially motivated history of redlining and property seizure, by 1952, the community was a ghost town, and in the following years, the land would be sold below the market value or auctioned off against the will of the landowners. Churches, schools, and cemeteries were bulldozed and buried. The promises of new permanent housing would be abandoned, and land titles would never be returned to the original owners. By 1958, the Elysian Park Heights housing project had unraveled, and the city conveyed the Chavez Ravine land to a private entity for an insignificant amount considering the land’s value. The private entity built a sports stadium and parking lot on the site.

(k) Chavez Ravine was wrongfully condemned land, and its residents were displaced and unjustly deprived of their constitutional right to own property. The fraudulent appropriation of land from private individuals on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin is against the public interest and denies individuals and communities the right to enjoyment, ownership, and inheritance of land, as well as the inalienable right to control one’s property.

(l) The government has a responsibility to prohibit and eliminate racial and ethnic discrimination in all forms and to ensure that all persons are entitled to security against forced removal from housing, harassment, and intimidation by any entities that deprive individuals of their rights to self-determination and dignity on the basis of race.

(m) As set forth in precedential landmark legislation, Senate Bill 796 (Chapter 435 of the Statutes of 2021): “Government must act in the public’s interest to ensure that communities can fairly access justice and an effective remedy, including, when appropriate, the potential return, restitution, resettlement, rehabilitation, or compensation, for unlawful and race-based displacements.”

(n) Actions taken by the city disenfranchised more than 1,800 Angelino families, and approximately 3,800 individuals in the Chavez Ravine area. It is in the interest of the public, the State of California, the County of Los Angeles, and the city to create a task force to oversee and report on the investigation and assessed value of the lost housing and land, the compensation requirements for displaced residents and landowners of Chavez Ravine, potential compensation for their descendants, and ensuring the construction of a memorial to be erected on the Chavez Ravine site, and a private cause of action enforced for any parties not otherwise compensated through the administrative process. site.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 16.5 (commencing with Section 7278) is added to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, to read:

CHAPTER  16.5. Chavez Ravine Community

7278.

(a)(1)The following provisions set forth in this chapter apply to all 315 acres of land in the Chavez Ravine community acquired by the City of Los Angeles, including the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles’ acquisition through eminent domain, coercive means, and land conveyed to private entities to construct a sports stadium.

(2)

7278.

 (a) The purpose of this chapter is to provide compensation to residents develop a task force that will evaluate the history of the residents, business owners, and landowners displaced from the Chavez Ravine area between 1950 to 1961, inclusive. inclusive, in order to provide the city, county, and the Legislature with recommendations to provide just compensation to descendants of the residents, business owners, and landowners displaced from the Chavez Ravine area.

(b) For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1) “City” means the City of Los Angeles.

(2) “County” means the County of Los Angeles.

(3) (A)“Descendant” means a lineal descendant born in a direct biological line from a displaced decedent resident, business owner, or landowner of the Chavez Ravine property. property who was wrongfully displaced between 1950 to 1961, inclusive. Descendants may include, but are not limited to, a person’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

(B)Any compensation awarded pursuant to this chapter to a descendant shall be divided into as many equal shares as there are surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the designated ancestor. Any compensation transferred to the decedent’s descendants shall follow the same rules of inheritance as those applied in cases of intestacy.

(c) (1)The city shall create There is hereby established within the state government a task force, force known as the Chavez Ravine Displaced Residents Task Force, in accordance with the requirements set forth in subdivision (h). Upon the city’s review of the task force reports and compensation recommendations as outlined in subdivision (j), the city shall decide on one of the following forms of compensation for former landowners or their descendants: (h). The task force shall review the history and any records relating to the displacement of residents and businesses from Chavez Ravine from 1950 to 1961, inclusive, in order to develop recommendations for the city, county, and Legislature regarding how to provide just compensation to the persons wrongfully displaced from Chavez Ravine from 1950 to 1961, inclusive, or their descendants.

(A)Convey city-owned real property for housing, use, and enjoyment equal to the square footage area of land acquired by the city from the property owners unjustly displaced between 1950 and 1961, inclusive. Notwithstanding any other law, no legislative or administrative approvals by the city council or other city departments shall be necessary for the implementation of this section, and the Surplus Land Act and other public transfer restrictions shall not apply for the purposes of this chapter.

(B)Compensation for the taking of former landowners’ private property through monetary compensation, equal to the fair market value at the time of sale or taking, adjusted for inflation. The monetary compensation shall be exempt from taxation and the real property transfer tax only for purposes of this chapter.

(2)Upon the review of the task force reports and compensation recommendations, as described in subdivision (j), the city shall provide compensation to former residents or descendants of residents who were not landowners in the form of relocation benefits, health care benefits, employment-oriented services, educational scholarships, or other forms of compensation deemed fair and equitable by the task force in accordance with this section.

(3)The city also shall review the task force recommendations and the other reports pursuant to this section, and determine other additional compensation for former residents, only if deemed to serve the best interests of the city and the public. Review shall occur no later than June 1, 2028. A one-time six-month extension, until December 2028, may be granted by the task force upon written request.

(4)The city shall submit a report to the task force and the public no later than January 1, 2029, detailing the methods and timeline for compensating residents and former landowners of Chavez Ravine. A one-time six-month extension, until June 1, 2029, may be granted by the task force upon written request.

(d) On or before January 1, 2027, the city The task force shall create an official and complete historical accounting of the property owners owners, business owners, and residents who were evicted or displaced, their descendants, and land acquired through eminent domain or other coercive tactics. tactics, with which the city can create an official, public, and educational account of the events that took place at Chavez Ravine between 1950 and 1961, inclusive. Further, the historical accounting report shall also include a review and report about the appropriation of land from private persons from 1950 to 1961, inclusive. A one-time six-month extension, until June 1, 2027, may be granted by the task force upon written request. inclusive, including all relevant city and county information.

(e) The city shall create and administer a public access searchable database including all available city and county information related to Chavez Ravine. This database shall task force shall provide recommendations regarding consideration of development of a publicly accessible searchable database. The task force shall consider whether a database should be developed that may include, but not be limited to, any or all of the following:

(1) The names and addresses in the Chavez Ravine area of Information about former residents residents, business owners, and landowners evicted or displaced.

(2)All notices to residents and landowners from the local, state, and federal government.

(3)

(2) Payment receipts by public and private agencies for purchase of property located in the Chavez Ravine community.

(4)

(3) Land acquisition methods used by all public agencies to acquire the Chavez Ravine property.

(5)Arrest records related to removal of residents and landowners.

(6)

(4) Identification of all divisions of government involved in the displacement of Chavez Ravine residents.

(7)

(5) Correspondence between the city and the county and private entities, public government agencies, residents, and landowners of Chavez Ravine.

(f)The searchable database shall be made available to the public and task force no later than January 1, 2027. A one-time six-month extension, until June 1, 2027, may be granted by the task force upon written request.

(g)The city shall redact all sensitive personal information, including, but not limited to, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and birth dates, from the information contained in the database created pursuant to subdivision (e).

(f) The task force shall make recommendations on all of the following regarding compensation for individuals displaced from Chavez Ravine:

(1) Establishing a process for determining the individuals that shall be eligible for compensation on the basis that they were displaced, or are the descendants of those who were displaced, from Chavez Ravine from 1950 to 1961, inclusive.

(2) The apportionment of responsibility among public or private entities for providing compensation.

(3) A method or methods for determining the amount of just compensation for those individuals that accounts for the harms suffered by those individuals, and the forms of just compensation for the displaced persons or their descendants. The forms of compensation that shall be considered for recommendation may include the transfer of real property, monetary compensation, relocation benefits, health care benefits, employment-related services, educational scholarships, a community benefits agreement, or other forms of compensation deemed fair and equitable by the task force in accordance with this chapter.

(h)

(g) The city shall construct a permanent memorial, to be erected no later than December 31, 2028, in recognition of the displaced residents and landowners of the Chavez Ravine community. The memorial shall include interpretive and informational signs and structures, as well as areas to accommodate public gathering and contemplation, and include educating future generations regarding the impact of this displacement and historical discriminatory policies in the city. A one-time six-month extension, until May 31, 2029, may be granted by the task force upon written request.

(i)The task force shall oversee the matters set forth in subdivisions (c), (d), (f), (g), and (h). The

(h) The task force shall consist of the following nine members:

(1) An elected official of the city or county or an elected official a designee thereof who shall service as the chair of the task force. thereof, appointed by the city council.

(2) An elected official of the county, or designee thereof, appointed by the board of supervisors.

(2)

(3) One individual ex officio member of the Senate, or their designee, appointed by the President pro Tempore of the Senate and one individual appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, who shall both service as the covice chairpersons cochairpersons of the task force. A designee of the ex officio member of the Assembly or member of the Senate shall be authorized to make decisions on behalf of the member.

(3)Two

(4) (A) Three descendants of displaced Chavez Ravine landowners or residents, appointed by the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles. landowners, business owners, or residents.

(B) The Speaker of the Assembly, the President pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Governor shall each appoint one individual identified in subparagraph (A).

(5) One individual from the field of academia with expertise in the historical record of Chavez Ravine during the designated time, appointed by the Governor.

(6) One member, appointed by the Governor, with expertise in historical injustice, representing either of the following:

(A) A nonprofit organization with a social justice mission located within the city or county.

(B) A civil organization located within the city or county.

(4)The President of the United Farm Workers (UFW), or the president’s designee.

(5)The President of Public Counsel, or the president’s designee.

(6)The Chairperson of Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), or the chairperson’s designee.

(7)One member of the local,

(i) In carrying out its duties pursuant to this chapter, the task force shall consult with the Gabrielino-Tongva Nation appointed by the council member representing the Chavez Ravine area. Nation.

(j) The term of office for members shall be for the life of the task force. A vacancy in the task force shall not affect the powers of the task force and shall be filled in the same manner that the original appointment was made. Five members of the task force shall constitute a quorum.

(j)

(k) (1) Members of the task force that are currently elected officials or their designees shall not be entitled to receive per diem, or any form of similar compensation, for their participation in the task force.

(k)The task force shall oversee and create a report addressing all of the following items:

(1)Progress on the city’s construction of the permanent memorial, as described in subdivision (g).

(2)Recommendations on appropriate ways to educate the California public of the city and county’s findings pursuant to subdivisions (d), (e) and (f), no later than January 1, 2028.

(3)Recommendations to the city regarding compensation for former residents and landowners of Chavez Ravine or their descendants based on the information established in subdivisions (c), (d), (e) and (f).

(4)Recommendations on any additional appropriate compensation, in consideration of the task force’s findings regarding former residents on the matters described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (c).

(5)Identification of all the divisions of government that were involved and responsible for the displacements in Chavez Ravine.

(2) Other members of the task force shall be entitled to receive per diem and reimbursement for their actual and necessary expenses in performing their duties.

(l) The first meeting of the task force shall occur on or before July 31, 2025.

(l)

(m) (1) The task force shall also submit to the city, county, and Legislature a comprehensive report detailing its recommended remedies recommendations for a database pursuant to subdivision (e) and recommendations for compensation to former displaced Chavez Ravine residents. residents, business owners, and landowners pursuant to subdivision (f). This report shall also include the recommendations for strategies for educating the public about the history and impact of the Chavez Ravine displacements. Those recommendations and educational initiatives displacements pursuant to subdivision (g). The report shall be submitted for legislative review and action on or before January 1, 2028. A one-time six-month extension, until June 1, 2028, may be granted by the task force Governor upon written request.

(2) The report submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795.

(m)The task force shall oversee the city’s administration process of compensation to former Chavez Ravine residents, landowners, or their descendants.

7278.1.

(a)On or before January 1, 2027, the task force, in consultation with the City Attorney of the City of Los Angeles, shall develop an appeal process for former residents or descendants of Chavez Ravine to appeal to the city a denial of compensation described in Section 7278.

(b)After the task force develops the appeal process described in subdivision (a), or beginning January 1, 2027, whichever occurs first, a former resident or descendant of Chavez Ravine may appeal to the city a denial of compensation described in Section 7278 in accordance with that appeal process.

(c)If the city denies an appeal brought pursuant to subdivision (b) and the former resident or descendant of Chavez Ravine believes that the city improperly denied compensation as described in Section 7278, the former resident or descendant may petition a court for a writ of mandate pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1084) of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure to compel the city to provide compensation in accordance with Section 7278.

7278.1.

 (a) For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the task force may do all of the following:

(1) Hold hearings and sit and act at any time and location in the county.

(2) Request the attendance and testimony of witnesses.

(3) Request the production of books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents.

(4) Acquire from the city or county available information that the task force considers useful in the discharge of its duties. The city and the county shall cooperate with the task force with respect to such information and shall furnish all information requested by the task force to the extent permitted by law. The task force shall keep confidential any information received from the city or county that is confidential or exempt from the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000)).

(5) Appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as the task force considers appropriate.

(6) Procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance with applicable laws and rules.

(7) Enter into contracts for the purposes of conducting research or surveys, preparing reports, and performing other activities necessary for the discharge of the duties of the task force.

(b) Operation of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to appropriation by the Legislature.

SEC. 3.

 The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

SEC. 4.

 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unusual circumstances surrounding the land ownership and tenant rights on land known as Chavez Ravine.

SEC. 5.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.