BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2530|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2530
Author: Nielsen (R), et al
Amended: 8/25/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 4-0, 8/24/10
AYES: Aanestad, Kehoe, DeSaulnier, Price
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SUBJECT : Local government: Williamson Act: contracts
SOURCE : California Farm Bureau Federation
Resource Landowners Coalition
DIGEST : This bill provides that if the states open-space
subventions are less than half of a countys actual foregone
general fund property tax revenue, that county may shorten
its Williamson Act contracts to nine years in the case of
10-year contracts and 18 years in the case of 20-year
contracts.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/25/10 (1) require that new
Williamson Act contracts which are signed when the
temporary program is in effect must be for either nine or
18 years, (2) require a county to record a notice of the
affected properties' parcel numbers, (3) require a county
to separately display the additional amount of property tax
revenue on the taxpayer's annual bill, (4) limit the
CONTINUED
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increase in valuation to 10 percent, (5) require the
increased property tax revenues to be exclusively allocated
to the county, replacing this bill's current formulas, and
(6) shorten the sunset date from January 1, 2017 to January
1, 2015.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/10 allow county assessors
to revalue Williamson Act contracted land and shorten
Williamson Act contracts when state subventions are less
than half, and increase revenue to participating counties.
ANALYSIS : Existing law allows landowners and local
officials to conserve agricultural and open-space land
under a three-part scheme:
1. Voluntary contracts that restrict land uses ("Williamson
Act"). These contracts run for 10 or 20 years and
automatically renew each year for an additional year.
2. Reduced property tax assessments for those contracted
lands.
3. State subventions to replace the foregone property tax
revenues.
This bill provides that if the state's open-space
subventions are less than half of a county's actual
foregone general fund property tax revenue, that county may
shorten its new Williamson Act contracts to nine years in
the case of 10-year contracts and 18 years in the case of
20-year contracts. In any year this happens, the county is
required to record a notice that states the affected parcel
number(s).
In that situation, the county assessor must revalue the
contracted property to reflect the nine-year or 18-year
contract length. The increased valuation shall not exceed
10 percent of the difference between the value that
reflects the property's restricted use and the property's
market value. If the market value is lower than the
restricted value, there is no revaluation. These
provisions do not apply in five specified situations.
The increased revenues generated by the revaluations must
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be allocated exclusively to the county, either in
proportion to the percentage of the statewide average of
general property tax dollars received by county governments
that fiscal year or a maximum of 20 percent, whichever is
greater.
The landowners can nonrenew their Williamson Act contracts
instead of accepting a shorter contract. In that case, the
county assessor will not revalue the contracted land.
A county must give timely written notice to Williamson Act
landowners of:
Its hearings regarding adopting or rescinding these
contract and revaluation provisions.
Its decisions regarding these contract and revaluation
provisions.
The right to prevent contract amendments through
nonrenewal.
A county cannot modify or revalue a contract unless the
landowner gets 90-days notice of the opportunity for
nonrenewal and then fails to give notice of nonrenewal.
These provisions automatically sunset on January 1, 2015.
Background
Approximately 16.6 million acres are under Williamson Act
contracts. When the Governor'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 percent. The Legislature's 2009-10
Budget reduced the subventions to $27.8 million. However,
the Governor essentially eliminated the subventions by
cutting the appropriation to $1,000.
On March 3, 2010, the Senate Local Government Committee
held an oversight hearing on the Williamson Act. Counties,
landowners, and conservation groups urged legislators to
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find other revenues to replace the state General Fund to
pay for the state subventions to counties. Without
subventions, counties told legislators that they are
unlikely to continue participation in the Williamson Act.
Since the Committee's March hearing, agricultural groups
have been meeting with county officials and others to find
ways of preventing counties and landowners from terminating
their Williamson Act contracts until the state can resume
subvention payments.
This bill creates a temporary program that counties can use
when the state's open space subventions are less than a
specified level. This bill also creates more revenues for
the counties that use the temporary program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/24/10)
California Farm Bureau Federation (co-source)
Resource Landowners Coalition (co-source)
The Nature Conservancy
AGB:mw 8/25/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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