BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2530| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ CONSENT Bill No: AB 2530 Author: Nielsen (R) Amended: 4/8/10 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/16/10 AYES: Aanestad, Kehoe, DeSaulnier, Price NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/6/10 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Local government: Williamson Act: agricultural preserves: advisory board SOURCE : Resource Landowners Coalition DIGEST : This bill specifies matters on which Williamson Act advisory boards may advise the legislative body of a city or county. ANALYSIS : Existing law creates the Williamson Act, also known as the California Land Conservation Act of 1965, which authorizes cities and counties to enter into agricultural land preservation contracts with landowners who agree to restrict the use of their land for a minimum of 10 years in exchange for lower assessed valuations for property tax purposes. The Division of Land Resource Protection in the Department of Conservation administers CONTINUED AB 2530 Page 2 the Act. Existing law authorizes a board or council to appoint an advisory board to advise the board or council on the administration of the agricultural preserves in the county or city and on any matters relating to contracts entered into pursuant to the Williamson Act. This bill creates a nonexclusive list of topics about which a Williamson Act advisory board may advise a county board of supervisors or city council: program benefits, costs, amendments, and landowner participation. This bill declares that this statutory provision is not the exclusive manner to receive advice. Background The Williamson Act conserves agricultural and open space land under a three-part scheme that involves voluntary contracts between landowners and the county (or city) that enforceably restrict land uses, reduced property tax assessments, and state subventions to make up for the lost revenues. A county board of supervisors or city council may appoint an advisory board to give advice on agricultural preserves and Williamson Act contracts. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 6/16/10) Resource Landowners Coalition (source) California State Sheriffs' Association County of Monterey ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, AB 2530 Page 3 Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Block, De La Torre, Gilmore, Mendoza, Vacancy CTW:mw 6/16/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****