BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1965
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
AB 1965 (Yamada) - As Amended: April 13, 2010
SUBJECT : Agricultural land: Williamson Act: lot line
adjustments: contracts.
SUMMARY : This bill extends the authorization, from January 1,
2011 to January 1, 2013, when agreed upon by a city or county
and a landowner, to rescind a Williamson Act (Act) contract and
simultaneously enter into a new contract to facilitate lot line
adjustments; requires that an application to rescind a contract
for lot line adjustments be processed to its completion if it is
submitted before January 1, 2013; and, deletes outdated report
language.
EXISTING LAW authorizes owners of land, subject to the Act, to
seek approval for lot line changes without having to utilize the
Act's non-renewal or cancellation provisions and pay
cancellation fees; this authorization will sunset on January 1,
2011.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by Legislative
Council.
COMMENTS : The provisions of AB 1965 were originally enacted in
1990 with the intention of validating and opening rules for lot
line adjustments involving the Act's contract and non-contract
lands when some of the land was being removed from the Act, when
there is no other existing statutory authority. In 1999, these
provisions were changed to include all Act lands going through
lot line adjustments. These provisions will expire on January
1, 2011. AB 1965 will extend the current provisions of the
Act's lot line adjustments to January 1, 2013.
The Act's use of the phrase, "to facilitate a lot line
adjustment", as it relates to lot line adjustment, led some to
believe this section was optional, rather than required even
when no non-Act lands were involved. This issue has been the
subject of discussion among stakeholders over the past several
years. To date there has been no agreement. This bill does not
deal with the lot line adjustment issue.
AB 1965
Page 2
PREVIOUS LEGISLATION : AB 1441 (Agriculture), Chapter 148,
Statutes of 2009, extended the automatic termination date from
January 1, 2010, to January 1, 2011, in the state law that
permits local officials to rescind a Williamson Act contract to
facilitate a lot line adjustment.
AB 2921 (Laird), Chapter 503, Statutes of 2008, expanded and
clarified statutory procedures for the Department Of
Conservation to identify and respond to material breaches of
Williamson Act contracts, and made adjustments to provisions of
the Act dealing with contract rescissions, open space and
agricultural easements. This bill also extended the automatic
termination date from January 1, 2009, to January 1, 2010, in
the state law that permits local officials to rescind a
Williamson Act contract to facilitate a lot line adjustment.
AB 1492 (Laird) Chapter 694, Statutes of 2003, along with other
changes to the Act, extended the automatic termination date from
January 1, 2004, to January 1, 2009, in the state law that
permits local officials to rescind a Williamson Act contract to
facilitate a lot line adjustment.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916)
319-2084