BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 668
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          Date of Hearing:  June 15, 2011

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                                Cameron Smyth, Chair
                      SB 668 (Evans) - As Amended:  May 10, 2011

           SENATE VOTE  :  39-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  Local government: Williamson Act.

           SUMMARY  :  Allows a city or county, in order to compensate for a 
          reduction in state subvention payments for the Williamson Act, 
          to accept contributions from a nonprofit, a land-trust 
          organization, a nonprofit entity, or a public agency for 
          specific land that is under a Williamson Act contract to 
          supplement the city or county's foregone property tax revenues.  
          Specifically, 
           this bill  :   

          1)Allows a city or county to accept contributions from a 
            nonprofit, a land-trust organization, a nonprofit entity, or a 
            public agency for specific land that is under a Williamson Act 
            contract to supplement the city or county's foregone property 
            tax revenues.  

          2)Specifies that this authority applies if the state fails to 
            make all or part of its subvention payments to the city or 
            county.

          3)Allows the contributor to contract with the owner of 
            Williamson Act land, with the approval of the city or county, 
            to keep the property under the Williamson Act contract in 
            exchange for the contributor's payment to the city or county.

          4)Requires that a contract between the contributor and the 
            landowner be subject to any limitation in the contributor's 
            power.  

          5)Prohibits the contract from allowing or requiring the land's 
            conversion into a mitigation bank site.

          6)Provisions of the measure sunset on January 1, 2016, unless 
            the Legislature extends or repeals that date.  

          7)Specifies that the contract between the contributor and the 








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            landowner remains in effect until it terminates, for up to 10 
            years.  

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Authorizes, pursuant to Article 13, section 8 of the 
            California Constitution, the Legislature to promote the 
            conservation, preservation and continued existence of open 
            space lands and provides that when these lands are enforceably 
            restricted to recreation, enjoyment of scenic beauty, use or 
            conservation of natural resources, or production of food or 
            fiber, they must be valued for property tax purposes only on a 
            basis that is consistent with these restrictions and uses.

          2)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 the 
            Act.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None

           COMMENTS  :   

          1)The Williamson Act conserves agricultural and open space land 
            by allowing private property owners to sign voluntary 
            contracts with counties and cities, enforceably restricting 
            their land to agriculture, open space, and compatible uses.  
            In return, county assessors must lower the assessed value of 
            the contracted lands to reflect their use as agriculture or 
            open space instead of the market value.  Making sure that 
            private property owners use their Williamson Act land 
            appropriately is essential to maintaining the statute's 
            constitutional integrity.

          2)Approximately 16.6 million acres are under Williamson Act 
            contracts.  When Governor Schwarzenegger'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%.  The Legislature's 2009-10 budget reduced 








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            the subventions to $27.8 million.  However, Governor 
            Schwarzenegger essentially eliminated the subventions by 
            cutting the appropriation to $1,000.  This funding was removed 
            from the 2010-11 budget.   

          3)Last year the Legislature passed AB 2530 (Nielsen), Chapter 
            391, Statutes of 2010, which contained an alternative funding 
            mechanism for the Williamson Act.  In October 2010 during the 
            budget negotiations the Legislature passed SB 863 (Budget and 
            Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 722, Statutes of 2010, which 
            made minor changes to the provisions of AB 2530.  The budget 
            actions in October 2010 also appropriated $10 million from the 
            General Fund for Williamson Act open space subventions to 
            counties in 2010-11.  However, in March of this year the 
            Legislature passed SB 80 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), 
            Chapter 11, Statutes of 2011, which deleted the statutory 
            appropriation of $10 million from the General Fund for 
            Williamson Act open space subventions to counties in 2010-11 
            and repealed the alternative Williamson Act program.

          4)According to the author's office the loss of General Fund 
            subventions to backfill local government property tax revenue 
            losses on land under Williamson Act contract threatens the 
            continuation of those contracts.  SB 668 clarifies that local 
            governments may accept contributions from non-profits and land 
            trusts to help offset the reduction in state subventions. 

          5)Support arguments:  Supporters argue that by authorizing 
            greater funding flexibility at the local government level, 
            this bill helps achieve several primary objectives necessary 
            for the long-term conservation of our agricultural and 
            open-space lands.  

            Opposition arguments:  None at this time. 

          6)This bill is double-referred to the Committee on Agriculture.
           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          None on file
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file 








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           Analysis Prepared by  :    Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916) 
          319-3958