BILL ANALYSIS
AB 929
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 929 (Blakeslee) - As Introduced: February 26, 2009
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill allows the Director of the Department of Conservation
(DOC) to provide grants, from sources other than the currently
established California Farmland Conservancy Program (CFCP) Fund,
to acquire agricultural conservation easements.
FISCAL EFFECT
Potentially substantial cost pressures, in the millions of
dollars annually, primarily to proceeds of bonds authorized by
Proposition 1E approved by voters at the November 2006 statewide
election and to any future funding made available for the uses
described in this bill.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author contends more money needs to be made
available to the DOC to acquire agricultural conservation
easements designed to preserve and protect these relatively
open spaces from residential or commercial development. The
author is particularly interested in having a vehicle in
place, should funds become available for the purposes
described in the bill, as well as any proceeds of bonds
authorized by Prop 1E available for the CFCP that have yet to
be appropriated.
2)CFCP . This program provides grants to local agencies and
nonprofits to voluntarily acquire conservation easements on
agricultural lands in danger of being developed, to
temporarily purchase lands under these pressures, restore and
improve agricultural land already under easement, and to
AB 929
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develop agricultural land conservation policy and planning
projects. These actions, taken together, are intended to
better ensure that these lands will continue to be used for
agricultural or open-space purposes and will permanently be
protected from residential or commercial development.
3)Loss of California Agricultural Lands . As California's
population climbs past 38 million, lands traditionally used
for agricultural purposes continue to be converted to
residential and commercial uses. As cities surrounded by
agricultural lands continue to expand geographically, millions
of acres of farmland and rangeland are in danger of being lost
to new residential subdivisions and commercial complexes. For
instance, from 2000 to 2002 alone, the DOC estimates over
397,000 acres of farmland was converted to other uses. The
CFCP, in conjunction with efforts such as property tax
incentives and various preservation-related programs, is
designed to remove large areas of agricultural land from
potential residential or commercial development, thus
preserving land as both open-space and as part of the state's
overall agricultural production base.
4)Prop 1E . Prop 1E earmarks $290 million of state general
obligation bond proceeds to protect, create or enhance flood
protection corridors and bypasses through, among other
actions, acquisition of easements while preserving
agricultural use or wildlife uses. According to the Natural
Resources Agency, approximately $191 million remains from this
funding source.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081