NEWS: From the National Trust, the Midterm election & Preservation
Democrats Regain Control of House and Senate in Mid-Term Election
Tuesday’s mid-term election gave Democrats the majority in both chambers of Congress, ending 12 years of GOP control in the House and four years of Republican dominance over the both chambers. The Trust is re-shaping its legislative program for the remainder of this year and developing its agenda for the next Congress to respond to the new political landscape on the Hill. House and Senate elections will take place next week when the “lame duck” session convenes. Below is an assessment of how the election results might shape the leadership and key panels in the 110th Congress which have jurisdiction over the historic preservation legislative agenda. If you have any questions or want more specifics, please contact Congressional Affairs Director, Patrick Lally at (202) 588-6129.
Senate
Leadership:
Harry Reid (D-NV) would become Majority Leader and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) would be Minority Leader.
Richard Durbin (D-IL) would likely remain in his position and become the Majority Whip.
Byron Dorgan (D-ND) would remain Policy Chairman.
Trent Lott (R-MS) would run for the Minority Whip position. Lamar Alexander is also a prospective contender.
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) would run for Policy Chairman.
Jon Kyl (R-AZ) could become Chairman of the Republican Conference, replacing Rick Santorum (R-PA).
John Ensign (R-NV) would head up the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Appropriations:
Mike DeWine (R-OH) lost his seat to Sherrod Brown (D-OH). DeWine has been a staunch ally of historic preservation. (Brown served as a state representative and Ohio Secretary of State. He was first was elected to the U.S. House in 1992.).
Robert Byrd (D-WV) would re-gain the Chairmanship of the full Appropriations Committee and Thad Cochran (R-MS) would become Ranking Minority Member.
Interior Subcommittee – Conrad Burns (R-MT) lost his seat to Jon Tester. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) would become Chairman. (Tester lives in Big Sandy. He became a state senator in 1999 and now runs his family’s farm.).
Agriculture:
Tom Harkin (D-IA) would become Chairman and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) would be the Ranking Minority Member. Harkin has been supportive of historic preservation through the strong Iowa Main Street program.
Energy and Natural Resources:
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) would become Chairman of the full committee and Pete Domenici (R-NM) would be the Ranking Minority Member.
National Parks Subcommittee – Daniel Akaka (D-HI) may become Chairman and Craig Thomas (R-WY) would become Ranking Minority Member.
Finance:
Max Baucus (D-MT) would become Chairman and Charles Grassley (R-IA) would be the Ranking Minority Member. Baucus has been very supportive of historic preservation tax incentives over the years.
House of Representatives
Leadership:
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) would replace Dennis Hastert (R-IL) as Speaker.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and John Murtha (D-PA) would contend for the position of Majority Leader. Hoyer has been very supportive of historic preservation though funding for historic tobacco barns St. Mary’s City.
James Clyburn (D-SC), former Congressional Black Caucus Chair and current Democratic Caucus leader could become Majority Whip. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), who led the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or Diana DeGette (D-CO) could also vie for the post. Clyburn, in particular, has been a strong ally on various preservation initiatives including funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the Gulla-Geechee heritage area, and the Historic Preservation Fund.
John Larson (D-CT) could become Democratic Caucus Chairman.
Mike Ross (D-AR), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), and Hilda Solis (D-CA) would contend for Vice-Chairman of the Democratic Caucus.
Louise Slaughter (D-NY) would become Chair of the Rules Committee.
Appropriations:
David Obey (D-WI) would replace Jerry Lewis (R-CA) as Chairman of the full committee. Obey has been generally supportive of historic preservation particularly as it relates to cultural and historic resources in the National Park Service.
Interior Subcommittee – Norm Dicks (D-WA) could replace Charles Taylor (R-NC), who lost his race. Zach Wamp (R-TN) would likely become the Ranking Minority Member of the subcommittee. (Heath Shuler defeated Taylor. He is from Bryson City and was with the Washington Redskins until injuries ended his professional career.). Dicks championed efforts to secure full funding for historic preservation in appropriations. John Murtha (D-PA), the Ranking Minority Member on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, may challenge Steny Hoyer for Majority Leader. If Murtha won, that could allow Dicks to become its chairman. If he shifted to Defense, second-ranking Jim Moran (D-VA) could head up Interior.
Agriculture:
Collin Peterson (D-MN) would replace Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) as Chairman of the full committee.
Resources:
· Nick Rahall (D-WVA) would replace Richard Pombo (R-CA), who lost his race. (Jerry McNerney defeated Pombo. He was born in Albuquerque, N.M., and lives in Pleasanton. He is a wind engineer who heads a company that manufactures wind turbines for energy. McNerney ran unsuccessfully against Pombo for this seat in 2004 as a write-in candidate.). Rahall has a good record of support on historic preservation especially on funding for National Parks and Native American/sacred sites. He also has supported protections for the National Coal Heritage Area.
· National Parks Subcommittee – Donna Christensen (D-VI) would replace Steve Pearce (R-NM) as Chair. She is strong ally in preventing proposals to weaken Section 106.
Transportation:
James Oberstar (D-MN) would replace Don Young (R-AK) as Chairman of the full committee. He is a staunch ally of historic preservation and was instrumental in our successful efforts to oppose weakening Section 4(f)’s historic preservation safeguards under the transportation law.
Ways and Means:
Charles Rangel (D-NY) would replace William Thomas (R-CA) as Chairman of the full committee.
Nancy Johnson (R-CT) lost her seat to Chris Murphy. Johnson has been a key ally and an original cosponsor of the Trust’s tax amendments. (Murphy was elected to the General Assembly in 1998 and to the state Senate in 2002. He’s currently in his second term in the state Senate, representing the communities of Waterbury, Wolcott, Cheshire and Southington.).
Other:
Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) defeated Trust Advisor Maxine Moul. She has been a strong historic preservation advocate.
· Jim Leach (R-IA) was defeated by Dave Loebsack. Leach is a strong defender of the Main Street program and successfully passed a measure that set aside a portion of HOPE VI affordable housing monies for qualified Main Streets in rural areas. (Loebsack taught political science and has been a Democratic activist for many years.).
Appropriations Prospects:
The appropriations schedule remains uncertain in the “lame duck” session. Neither party is yet talking about how the remaining fiscal 2007 spending bills will be completed. There are two likely scenarios: 1) an omnibus package or a continuing resolution that extends current funding until the new Congress convenes; or 2) an extension through the remainder of the current fiscal year. When Congress recessed last month, it had only passed two of 11 spending bills. The short time available for additional appropriations work suggests that an omnibus package wrapping together the outstanding bills is likely. The current resolution is in effect until November 17th.
STATE AND LOCAL UPDATE …
Regulatory Takings and Eminent Domain Issues Top Ballot Initiatives in Several States
Tuesday’s mid-term election saw a wave of property rights initiatives on the ballot in several states. Oregon’s Measure 37 (which gutted Oregon’s well-known land-use protections in 2004) and the Supreme Court’s Kelo v. New London decision (which allowed the city to take residential and investment property for commercial development) were the impetus behind many of these ballot initiatives. For example, in the wake of the Kelo decision, a number of states took legislative steps to curb the power of state and local governments to take property under eminent domain authority. In addition, some states placed measures on Tuesday’s ballots designed to do the same. States that approved such measures include: Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, and South Carolina.
In addition to eminent domain initiatives, some states had ballot initiatives that were disguised as eminent domain reform, but which were actually mirror images of Oregon’s Measure 37. Like Measure 37, such initiatives could greatly endanger existing state land use controls, including historic preservation tools such as historic districts, individual landmark designations, historic and scenic corridors, and community design guidelines. States where such measures were on the ballot included:
Arizona
Private Property Rights Protection Act
Passed
35% No
65% Yes
California
Proposition 90
Failed
52% No
48% Yes
Washington
Initiative 933
Failed
58% No
42% Yes
Idaho
Proposition 2
Failed
76% No
24% Yes
Seven Massachusetts Localities Pass Community Preservation Act by Ballot Measure
On Tuesday, November 8th, seven Massachusetts communities voted to adopt the Community Preservation Act (CPA). The CPA is an enabling law that allows communities to raise funds, to be matched by the state, through a surcharge on local property taxes to use for historic preservation, open space preservation, and affordable housing purposes. The seven communities that elected to adopt CPA were Hatfield, Hubbardston, Mattapoisett, Millis, Monson, Pembroke, and Quincy.
In addition, Amherst, Massachusetts voted to raise the existing CPA surcharge from 1% to 1.5% and Hingham, Massachusetts defeated a ballot measure proposing to rescind participation in CPA.
There are now a total of 118 communities in the Commonwealth participating in the CPA program.
Virginia Voters Pass Constitutional Amendment Supporting Tax Incentives for New Construction
On Election Day, Virginia voters passed a proposed amendment to Section 6 of Article X of their Constitution, authorizing legislation to permit localities to provide a partial exemption from real property taxes for real estate with new structures and improvements in conservation, redevelopment and rehabilitation areas.
This change would expand the existing law, which allows partial exemption from real estate taxes as an incentive for renovation, rehabilitation, or replacement of existing structures, to include tax relief for new structures and improvements located in a conservation, redevelopment or rehabilitation area.
Preservationists fear the amendment may inadvertently result in a greater number of demolitions within and adjacent to historic districts. APVA Preservation Virginia encouraged advocates to oppose the measure unless provisions were added to protect historic districts. The measure passed by a 64.75% majority.