Crossposted in orange ,tips and recs certianly appreciated over there. Disclosure.

Way back during the times of the Romans, Odysseus, before he set out upon his journey back home, filled a large wooden horse with a whole mess of heavily armed soldiers. Clever, so clever that the tactic is still seen to this day. At any rate it’s alive and well in California’s ballot initiative process.

Last year, the opponents of Proposition 90 (including Oakland City Attorney John Russo at CPR)pointed out that a trojan horse was indeed in our midst.

Well, today we get a report(PDF) from the Western Center on Law & Poverty that says Howard Jarvis’ latest attempt is just another one of their spiffed-up Trojan Horses. Oh, sure, they’ve blinged it out again with some eminent domain “reform”, but the Hidden Agendas are hiding right inside that Shiny New Horse Sculpture, just waiting to get inside the walls of our Civil Code.

The armed mercenaries inside the 2008 Model T-Horse go beyond the elimination of rent control. Sure, this initiative would eliminate that, but it doesn’t stop there.  From the WCLP:

The report cites even more far-reaching potential effects. The measure prohibits government regulation of the ownership, occupancy or use of private real property. The report concludes that private property deregulation would eliminate nearly all renter and home buyer protections.

For homeowners, laws on foreclosure protection and homebuyer disclosure requirements could be eliminated. For renters, the measure could repeal laws requiring that dwellings are maintained in a decent and safe condition, the fair return of rental deposits, and 60 days notice before a no-fault eviction.

“Unpublicized provisions of this measure would undo countless laws dealing with property and tenants’ rights that have evolved over centuries,” added Minnehan.

“Whether by oversight or design, the initiative could turn back hundreds of years of property law and consumer protections,” said Minnehan.  “Home buyers and renters would have to negotiate every detail of a sale or lease. Our clients, the lowest income Californians, don’t have the bargaining power to get the protections now in law,”  she added.

Sure, California, it’s got a shiny exterior, but don’t let this Hidden Agendas Scheme inside of our walls. We can have real reform in 2008, it’s called the Homeowner’s Protection Act. It’s real reform. No mercenaries inside.