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Liz Michael for United States Senate

Cutting Green Tape: Toxic Pollutants, Environmental Regulation, and the Law
by Richard L. Stroup & Roger E. Meiners
Cutting Green Tape rethinks the nature and impact of today's environmental bureaucracy. Rather than continue unworkable, cumbersome, and often contradictory regulations, Cutting Green Tape prescribes a clearer tort legal system to settle disputes and demonstrates that clearly defined environmental property rights would reduce the threat of toxic substances. Among the many topics addressed are: air toxins policy; pollution, damages, and tort law; risk assessment, insurance, and public information; protecting groundwater; regulation of carcinogens; contracting for health and safety; and toxin torts by government.

REAL ESTATE

Private property ownership is the bedrock upon which the free enterprise system is built, and home ownership is the bulwark of stable and safe neighborhoods. It is my opinion that we should as a state promote home ownership in every way we reasonably can. I am in favor of the free exercise of property rights and the buying and selling thereof to the greatest degree practical, so long as no parties are injured. It is not only the fairest policy to undertake, but it is vital to the continued operation of the real estate market, and vital to property values that owners be free to use their property.

I don’t believe a current property owner should be compelled by law to make changes in the way his property is used, nor do I believe that a current owner should be legally constrained from selling a property which is currently used in one manner, to an owner seeking the same use of that property.

We need a policy where homeowners and property owners don't have to get special permission from on high to improve their real property. Excessive permit requirements prevent businesses from starting, keep storefronts and offices vacant, keep real property which should be improved unimproved, and jeopardize the security concerns of this district's residents. Excessive unnecessary regulation of a person's property is a serious infringement of their civil rights.

We should end eminent domain confiscation whether it is by a Community Development Agency, or a School District, or a transportation agency. We must assure property owners that the governmnent will not steal their businesses and homes.

Lower Taxes, Increase Incentives, and Cut Regulations

Lower taxes on new buyers would strengthen property values overall and promote sounder economic growth. While I do not want to dispense with Proposition 13 protections for owners who have held their poperty a long time, I do feel that the inequity between the two sets of taxpayers is unfair. But that’s best addressed with lower taxes on the new buyers, not dispensing with Proposition 13.

We should repeal sales taxes on housing construction materials such as fixtures, paint, wood, windows, insulation, etc. This would help stimulate housing construction and keep costs low.

We should offer tax credits for improvements on real property. This would help to abate urban blight and encourage property owners to keep up their property, thus keeping surrounding property values stable.

We should facilitate the conversion of vacant offfice space to residential space – such as lofts, where owners want to do this and it is feasible. It is abominable that so much office space should remain vacant where there are shortages of residential space.

There should be an automatic permit status to affordable housing projects set on land vacant more than one year, which previously held buildings of some type.

We should create more land trusts to help would-be homeowners buy houses upon which the state or local governments would buy the land.

We should encourage programs to initiate the tenant purchase of public housing, with cooperative investment available for units certain residents are unable to purchase.

We should provide tax incentives for renting vacant commercial space at below market rates.

Let's eliminate of licensing and zoning solely for the purpose of restraint of competition.

Let's legislate the right to conduct home businesses which do not result in significant retail traffic, pollution, or other disturbance to the neighborhood.

Let's also legislate mandatory variance requests and shift the burden of proof for denial to the government, not the applicant. Denials of variances must begin with people in the neighborhood, and if the neighborhood does not object, a variance should be granted, and no bureaucrat or politician should be allowed to block it on his own.

I call for elimination of transportation impact fees for non-expansion projects.

I also call for designation of certain depressed communities as "no state or local tax" zones to develop business. Designate other communities as specific "no tax" zones for specific, scarce and needed industries like banks, supermarkets, gas stations, or housing developments.

Tax caps to protect seniors and small entrepreneurs. No individual or business should ever be driven out of their homes or business because of taxes alone: therefore, I will propose a "tax cap", an exemption from taxes for any person or enterprise whose total tax burden exceeds 35% of their pretax net income: any taxes collected in excess of 35% must be refunded.

DISASTER RECOVERY RIGHTS

Frequently, politicians and bureaucrats attempt to capitalize on the misfortune of certain people when riots or disasters occur. After the riots, Los Angeles city politicians tried to deny some businesses the right to rebuild because of the type of business they operated. These social engineering tactics are reprehensible, and I encourage legislation to see that recovery attempts after a disaster are not thwarted by government, such as:.

Automatic rebuilding rights - To facilitate doing business and to hasten recovery in poverty-ridden neighborhoods, we should grant automatic rebuilding rights without permit for disaster victims, as well as automatic temporary use rights for businesses that are casualty victims to operate on site in trailers and temporary structures.

Permanent waivers of public hearings for needed community businesses such as banks, gas stations, supermarkets, and greengrocers, should be mandatory, with deferred fees for plan processing, and one-stop permit approval. By state mandate grant a no permit necessary status to banks set on land vacant more than one year.