BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 668| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 668 Author: Evans (D) Amended: 6/22/11 Vote: 21 SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/4/11 AYES: Wolk, Huff, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, La Malfa, Liu SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 5/23/11 (Consent) AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 7/7/11 (Consent) SUBJECT : Local government: Williamson Act SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill 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. This CONTINUED SB 668 Page 2 authority applies if the state fails to make all or part of its subvention payments to the city or county. Assembly Amendments prohibit a city or county from requiring additional conditions or restriction on the land or the landowner for existing or future contracts, in executing the authority of this bill, and specifies that this bill does not limit the rights of landowners to engage in other lawful contracts or transactions relating to their land or Williamson Act contracts. ANALYSIS : Landowners and local officials can cooperate to conserve agricultural and open space land under a three-part scheme: Voluntary contracts that restrict land use under the Williamson Act. These contracts run for 10 years (or 20 years in the case of the Farmland Security Zones) and automatically renew each year for an additional year. Reduced property tax assessments for those contracted lands. State subventions to replace the foregone property tax revenues. This bill 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. This authority applies if the state fails to make all or part of its subvention payments to the city or county. This bill 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. This bill requires that a contract between the contributor and the landowner be subject to any limitation in the contributor's power. The contract cannot allow or require the land's conversion into a mitigation bank site. CONTINUED SB 668 Page 3 These provisions automatically terminate on January 1, 2016, unless the Legislature extends or repeals that date. The contract between the contributor and the landowner remains in effect until it terminates, for up to 10 years. This bill prohibits a city or county from requiring additional conditions or restriction on the land or the landowner for existing or future contracts, in executing the authority of this bill, and specifies that this bill does not limit the rights of landowners to engage in other lawful contracts or transactions relating to their land or Williamson Act contracts. Background Approximately 16.6 million acres are under Williamson Act contracts. In 2007, when 15.6 million acres were eligible for state subventions, local officials claimed $37.7 million in direct General Fund payments. Successive budget cuts have essentially eliminated the subventions to counties by cutting the appropriation to $1,000. In March 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 restore the state subventions to counties. Without subventions, counties told legislators that they were unlikely to continue participation in the Williamson Act. Legislators responded by creating a temporary program that counties can use when the state government does not pay its full subvention. Counties can shorten the Williamson Act contracts, revalue the contracted land, and receive the increased revenues (AB 2530 ÝNielsen], Chapter 391, Statutes of 2010; SB 863 ÝSenate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee], Chapter 722, Statutes of 2010). By January 2011, eight counties had decided to implement that approach: Kings, Madera, Mendocino, Merced, Shasta, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Yolo. Other counties stopped accepting new contracts, but CONTINUED SB 668 Page 4 continue to look for different ways to replace their foregone property tax revenues. Other local agencies and private conservation groups worry what will become of farms, ranches, and open space if county officials stop participating in the Williamson Act. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 7/11/11) County of Monterey Mendocino County Board of Supervisors ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 7/7/11 (Consent) AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Donnelly, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Davis, Eng, Galgiani, Gorell, Logue, Nielsen AGB:mw 8/11/11 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED