BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2530|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2530
Author: Nielsen (R)
Amended: 8/19/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 4-0, 8/24/10
AYES: Aanestad, Kehoe, DeSaulnier, Price
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SUBJECT : Local government: Williamson Act: contracts
SOURCE : California Farm Bureau Federation
Resource Landowners Coalition
DIGEST : This bill provides that if the state's
open-space subventions are less than half of a county's
actual foregone general fund property tax revenue, that
county may shorten its Williamson Act contracts to nine
years in the case of 10-year contracts and 18 years in the
case of 20-year contracts.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/10 allow county assessors
to revalue Williamson Act contracted land and shorten
Williamson Act contracts when state subventions are less
than half, and increase revenue to participating counties.
ANALYSIS : Existing law allows landowners and local
officials to conserve agricultural and open-space land
CONTINUED
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under a three-part scheme:
1. Voluntary contracts that restrict land uses ("Williamson
Act"). These contracts run for 10 or 20 years and
automatically renew each year for an additional year.
2. Reduced property tax assessments for those contracted
lands.
3. State subventions to replace the foregone property tax
revenues.
This bill provides that if the state's open-space
subventions are less than half of a county's actual
foregone general fund property tax revenue, that county may
shorten its Williamson Act contracts to nine years in the
case of 10-year contracts and 18 years in the case of
20-year contracts.
In that situation, the county assessor must revalue the
contracted property to reflect the nine-year or 18-year
contract length. The increased valuation must be 10
percent of the difference between the value that reflects
the property's restricted use and the property's market
value. If the market value is lower than the restricted
value, there is no revaluation. These provisions do not
apply in five specified situations.
The increased revenues generated by the revaluations must
be paid to the county's general fund either in proportion
to the percentage of the statewide average of general
property tax dollars received by county governments that
fiscal year or a maximum of 20 percent, whichever is
greater.
The landowners can nonrenew their Williamson Act contracts
instead of accepting a shorter contract. In that case, the
county assessor will not revalue the contracted land.
A county must give timely written notice to Williamson Act
landowners of:
Its hearings regarding adopting or rescinding these
contract and revaluation provisions.
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Its decisions regarding these contract and revaluation
provisions.
The right to prevent contract amendments through
nonrenewal.
A county cannot modify or revalue a contract unless the
landowner gets 90-days notice of the opportunity for
nonrenewal and then fails to give notice of nonrenewal.
These provisions automatically sunset on January 1, 2017.
Background
Approximately 16.6 million acres are under Williamson Act
contracts. When the Governor's proposed 2003-04 Budget
wanted to save approximately $39 million by ending the
state subventions, the Legislative Analyst's Office
recommended a 10-year phase-out. The first cuts came in
2008-09 when a Budget trailer bill reduced the state
subventions by 10 percent. The Legislature's 2009-10
Budget reduced the subventions to $27.8 million. However,
the Governor essentially eliminated the subventions by
cutting the appropriation to $1,000.
On March 3, 2010, the Senate Local Government Committee
held an oversight hearing on the Williamson Act. Counties,
landowners, and conservation groups urged legislators to
find other revenues to replace the state General Fund to
pay for the state subventions to counties. Without
subventions, counties told legislators that they are
unlikely to continue participation in the Williamson Act.
Since the Committee's March hearing, agricultural groups
have been meeting with county officials and others to find
ways of preventing counties and landowners from terminating
their Williamson Act contracts until the state can resume
subvention payments.
This bill creates a temporary program that counties can use
when the state's open space subventions are less than a
specified level. This bill also creates more revenues for
the counties that use the temporary program.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/24/10)
California Farm Bureau Federation (co-source)
Resource Landowners Coalition (co-source)
The Nature Conservancy
AGB:mw 8/24/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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