BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE Senator Lois Wolk, Chair BILL NO: AB 1266 HEARING: 7/6/11 AUTHOR: Nielsen FISCAL: No VERSION: 2/18/11 TAX LEVY: No CONSULTANT: Detwiler WILLIAMSON ACT Lists topics about which Williamson Act advisory boards may provide advice. Background and Existing Law 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 restricts 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. Proposed Law Assembly Bill 1266 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. AB 1265 declares that this statutory provision is not the exclusive manner to receive advice. State Revenue Impact No estimate. Comment Purpose of the bill . Not only is the Williamson Act a complex statute, its local administration requires careful attention to detail. Local officials can rely on AB 1266 -- 2/18/11 -- Page 2 experienced landowners and conservationists to get the advice they need. AB 1266 is identical to an earlier version of AB 2530 (Nielsen, 2010), which the Senate Local Government Committee passed on its consent calendar last June. In August 2010, Assembly Member Nielsen converted his AB 2530 into a more substantial measure that created a method for county officials to recoup some of their lost state subventions. Governor Schwarzenegger signed that bill into law. However, before last year's Nielsen bill could take effect, the Legislature passed and Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 863 (Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Committee, 2010), an urgency bill which revised the Nielsen language. Earlier this year, the Legislature passed and Governor Brown signed SB 80 (Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Committee, 2011), an urgency bill that repealed counties' ability to recoup some of their lost state subventions. At its June 22 hearing, the Committee also passed AB 1265 (Nielsen), which restores counties' ability to recoup some of their lost state subventions. Assembly Actions Assembly Local Government Committee: 9-0 Assembly Agriculture Committee: 9-0 Assembly Floor: 78-0 Support and Opposition (6/30/11) Support : Unknown. Opposition : Unknown.