While Propositions 98 and 99 protect private property from aggressive government takeover through the exercise of eminent domain, Prop 98 goes far beyond just that. Meanwhile, Prop 99 is an initial step in the right direction.

A dissection of Prop 98's language unearths an ulterior agenda. Craftily tacked on is a provision abolishing local purview of rent control. In effect, more than 100 California counties and cities, including Berkeley, which have rent control laws tailored to their individual needs, would be subject to statewide regulations. The practical approach is to allow localities to decide, as the housing demands of different areas are likely to differ. Plus, attempting to make a connection between rent control and eminent domain is quite questionable.

Tracing the funding behind the campaign for Prop 98 clearly reveals self-serving interests. Unsurprisingly, the majority of those have made contributions are landlords and rental property management companies who support getting rid of limits on increases in rent for apartments and mobile home spaces.

A much more honest approach to eminent domain reform is Prop 99, which plainly and specifically prevents government from taking a privately owned single-family home and transferring it to another private party. It still allows government takings with just compensation for public uses. But the proposition itself is devoid of extra insidious add-ons.

Prop 99 is only a start. At best, it's a direct response to Kelo v. New London, the 2005 case sparking the fight for more stringent eminent domain laws (the Supreme Court upheld government's ability to give homeowners the boot in favor of broadly defined public purposes). There are other types of private property, such as farmlands, apartments, and businesses, that should be safeguarded as well.

Read the two proposed California constitutional amendments carefully. What's at stake here is protection from private-to-private ownership shifts, not scrapping local rent control laws. Vote no on Prop 98 and yes on Prop 99.