Brown signs measure to kill redevelopment agencies

It's part of the budget package that the Democratic-led legislature finalized Tuesday night. The measure would strip the state's redevelopment agencies of their funding - essentially kill them off - and then use that money for education, social services and other programs. The plan does allow the agencies to continue operating under new funding parameters, but that's not what proponents have in mind. They plan to go to court to challenge the legislation, maintaining that the state has little or no power to abolish redevelopment agencies.From Capitol Weekly:

Cities have vigorously defended the agencies, although a number of critics contend the money has been used for purposes that have little to do with blight, such as paying for the salaries of public officials and building high-end projects such as golf courses and swank restaurants. The critics of redevelopment - critics that include Brown, a former mayor of Oakland - believe the money could be better spent in tight economic times when the state's unemployment remains in double digits and recovery from the recession still looks bleak.

I'm taking bets on which gets resolved first: This or the Dodger bankruptcy.