From CapitolAlert, here’s the latest on the sale of the state buildings:
Superior Court Judge Charlotte Woolard rejected a bid for a temporary restraining order by two former building officials who claimed the sale is illegal and a waste of taxpayer money.
Opponents of the sale said they will appeal the decision Monday, hoping to block escrow from closing Wednesday.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature last year approved selling properties statewide to raise money in the budget crisis, netting about $1.3 billion. Andrew W. Stroud, a lawyer representing Schwarzenegger, said lawmakers appropriately approved the transaction.(SacBee)
The leaseback program is going to be a big net cost for the state, after all, it has to be for somebody to pay $1.3 billion for it. Frankly, the privatization of our state facilities is just a bad idea, in the short and long term. It’s a result of our failed political system to reach any sort of budget agreement that can be achieved without a slew of gimmicks.
Jerry Brown hasn’t officially said whether he supports the sale of the buildings, but this just might drag on to his term if attorneys for the opponents of the sale can get a stay before next Wednesday. We’ll keep an eye on this case.
None of these articles have any details about the lease-back provisions. Is the state required to lease-back, or is it optional? Is the price pre-set? Are the buyers required to lease to the government?
If a commercial developer is buying a property with a 20 year lease already attached, you can guarantee that they’ve done the long-term cost calculations, and those are not going to favor the state. If the 20 year lease can be broken, are we going to see the state scramble for square footage in 5 years when the economy and rents have recovered?
Man, somebody is going to rip the taxpayer off massively with this deal. This is like post-collapse Russia style.
where we make all the payments and lose our collateral at the end.
This is a fitting legacy for the Schwartzenegger years
Sell off state property to speculators who will rent it back to the state at a tremendous profit
In 30 years taxpayers own nothing and pay through the nose
Some politician will get a ‘finders fee’ for matching the state with the speculators (i.e. a bribe)
My representative Mark Leno (D-SF) supports the sale so he doesn’t have to cut spending
I’ll NEVER vote for him again
Save California Jerry !!
…a Republican appointed by Wilson: http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/judi…
Don’t blame the Judge
blame the politicians
And Democrats are up to their eyeballs in this scam
I’ll bet some politician(s) will profit from it
Ask you Representatives to stop this
Email Jerry Brown
This is just about one of the stupidest decisions the state could make.