Norman Mineta: “the Mineta-Davis amendment is the bipartisan alternative to the Goss amendment which we considered and nearly approved…”

“the Mineta-Davis amendment is the bipartisan alternative to the Goss amendment which we considered and nearly approved last night. When the Goss amendment was defeated by one vote, many members approached me--very concerned that a 10-percent threshold was just not workable. That is why Mr. Davis and I developed the bipartisan alternative. A 10-percent threshold is too inexact. It leaves the basic issue of whether you have rights under this bill with the fluctuations in appraisals which normally accompany any real estate evaluation. As my colleague has stated so well, such a margin of error is not reasonable. The 10-percent threshold is so ill-advised that not only could the taxpayer be ripped off through variances in the appraisal process, claims which would be allowed under this bill--claims of the very developers and individuals which the proponents of this bill are claiming to protect--could be denied because the margin for error is just too slim. Last night, 210 Members of this House agreed that a 10-percent threshold was too low, too inexact, and that 30 percent was preferable. When that was defeated, in the spirit of compromise, Mr. Davis and I developed the bipartisan alternative at 20 percent. This amendment is the Goss amendment reduced from 30 percent to 20 percent.”