Legislation approved in a post-midnight rush has positioned Anschutz Entertainment Group, a major political contributor and owner of Staples Center, to tap millions of dollars in state funds to spruce up the area near the downtown arena and the company's $2.5-billion L.A. Live development.
The bill's approval early Wednesday, only a few hours before the Legislature adjourned for the year, angered several lawmakers and advocates of affordable housing, including some who called for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto it.
The legislation would allow the Anschutz firm, known as AEG, to apply through a public partnership with the city for a share of the $2.8-billion Proposition 1C bond money to put in street improvements around its development, with the idea that the work would help generate more affordable housing in the area.
The firm is hoping to secure $50 million in public funds, much of it from Proposition 1C, to pay for improvements along the Figueroa Street corridor, said AEG spokesman Michael Roth, who added that none of the money would go to the L.A. Live development site. That site is heavily subsidized.
However, some affordable-housing advocates said the bill's language was tailored to help AEG, which they said has the clout, plans and ties to the city redevelopment agency to take better advantage of the state funds than other business groups.
"This unfairly gives them entree to have their projects subsidized," said Paul Zimmerman, executive director of the Southern California Assn. of Non-Profit Housing.
"A major question," he said, is whether a major corporation that owns part of the Lakers needs taxpayer subsidies to make affordable housing possible.
Firms affiliated with Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz have donated $927,000 to political causes in California since 2005, including $100,000 to Rebuilding California, a committee that campaigned for infrastructure bond measures that were pushed last year by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland).
AEG and affiliates reported donating $225,000 in the last three years to Schwarzenegger's California Recovery Team and $50,000 to the campaign for a ballot measure, championed by the Democrats who control the Legislature, that would extend term limits for sitting lawmakers. The donations also included $8,000 to the campaign committees of Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles), who presented AB 1053 on the Senate floor.
