BILL NUMBER: AB 2698	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER   1045
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 30, 2000
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 30, 2000
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 25, 2000
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 24, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 21, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 10, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 8, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Florez
   (Principal coauthor:  Senator Costa)
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Ashburn, Cardoza, Dickerson,
Ducheny, Granlund, Lempert, Leonard, Maddox, Mazzoni, Pescetti,
Reyes, Torlakson, Wright, and Zettel)
   (Coauthor:  Senator Morrow)

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2000

   An act to amend Section 51286 of the Government Code, relating to
agricultural land, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2698, Florez.  Williamson Act:  Kern County.
   Existing law, the Williamson Act, authorizes a county or city,
upon petition by a landowner, to cancel any contract if a city or
county makes specified findings and the landowner pays a cancellation
fee.  The act also requires an action or proceeding which, on the
grounds of alleged noncompliance with the requirements of the act,
seeks to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul a decision of a
county board of supervisors or a city council to cancel a contract to
be commenced within 180 days from the date of the board or council
order on a petition for cancellation.
   This bill would require this action or proceeding to commence
within 30 days from the date that the Energy Resources and
Conservation Development Commission issues its determination on an
electric generation project if the cancellation relates to proposed
electric generation projects that are located in the southern half of
Kern County with a specified capacity, and for which applications
were accepted as data adequate by the Energy Resources and
Conservation Development Commission during the month of January 2000.
  This requirement would become inoperative on December 31, 2001.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency measure.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 51286 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   51286.  (a) Any action or proceeding which, on the grounds of
alleged noncompliance with the requirements of this chapter, seeks to
attack, review, set aside, void, or annul a decision of a board of
supervisors or a city council to cancel a contract shall be brought
pursuant to Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
   (b) The action or proceeding shall be commenced within 180 days
from the date of the council or board order acting on a petition for
cancellation filed under this chapter.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), if the cancellation relates
to proposed electric generation projects that are located in the
southern half of Kern County with a capacity of not less than 701
megawatts, but not greater than 800 megawatts, and for which
applications were accepted as data adequate by the Energy Resources
and Conservation Development Commission during the month of January
2000, the action or proceeding shall be commenced within 30 days from
the date that the Energy Resources and Conservation Development
Commission issues its determination on an electric generation project
described in this subdivision.  This subdivision shall become
inoperative on December 31, 2001.
  SEC. 2.  Due to the unique facts and circumstances relative to
power generation projects in Kern County, the Legislature finds and
declares that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution.
Therefore, special legislation contained in Section 1 of this act is
necessarily applicable only to Kern County.
  SEC. 3.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect.  The facts constituting the necessity are:
   (a) There is a projected shortage of electrical power to meet
projected demands, resulting in a need to build more electrical power
generating facilities.
   (b) The subject property's soil quality is relatively poor for
agricultural purposes, supporting only limited grazing activities and
not highly productive grazing, field crops, row crops, orchards, or
vineyards.
   (c) The subject property is affected by a gravel quarry on an
adjacent property that is not subject to a Williamson Act contract.
   Therefore, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.