BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                        
                       SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
                        Senator Patricia Wiggins, Chair


          BILL NO:  SB 664                      HEARING:  5/6/09
          AUTHOR:  Cogdill                      FISCAL:  No
          VERSION:  4/13/09                     CONSULTANT:  Detwiler

                            WILLIAMSON ACT CONTRACTS
          
                           Background and Existing Law  

          Under the Williamson Act, landowners may sign contracts  
          with counties (or cities), agreeing to restrict the use of  
          their property to agriculture, open space, or compatible  
          uses for the next 10 years.  These contracts automatically  
          renew each year; the termination date is always a decade  
          away.  The preferred method to end a Williamson Act  
          contract is nonrenewal, in which either the landowner or  
          the county (or city) files a written notice of nonrenewal  
          on the other party.  Local officials then formally record  
          the notice of nonrenewal.

          If either party decides to not renew, then the contract  
          runs out, usually over nine years.  When the contract  
          finally expires, the county (or city) has 30 days to send a  
          formal notice of expiration to the Director of the State  
          Department of Conservation.  The Legislature added this  
          notification requirement so that state officials could  
          track the status of Williamson Act contracted land (AB  
          1159, Kelley, 1989).


                                   Proposed Law  

          Senate Bill 664 declares that the failure of a city or  
          county to provide the notice of expiration of a Williamson  
          Act contract to the Director of the State Department of  
          Conservation does not invalidate the contract's expiration.


                                     Comments  

          1.   It's just between us .  A contract is an agreement  
          between two parties that creates a legal relationship.  A  
          Williamson Act contract is an agreement between a landowner  
          and the county (or city) to use the land for declared  
          purposes.  Because the State Department of Conservation is  




           
           SB 664 -- 4/13/09 -- Page 2



          not a party to these Williamson Act contracts, it doesn't  
          have any power to enforce the parties' contractual duties.   
          SB 664 makes it clear that if local officials fail to tell  
          state officials when a nonrenewed contract ends, that  
          omission doesn't affect the contract's expiration.

          2.   In search of a problem  .  There is no evidence --- not  
          even a casual anecdote --- to suggest that state officials  
          have ever challenged the expiration of a nonrenewed  
          Williamson Act contract.  The Committee may wish to  
          consider if SB 664 offers a solution to a problem that  
          doesn't exist.


                         Support and Opposition  (4/30/09)
           
          Support  :  County of Stanislaus.

           Opposition  :  Unknown.