BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1142
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 30, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
SB 1142 (Wiggins) - As Amended: February 18, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 23-11
NATURAL RESOURCES 7-0
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Gilmore, Brownley, |
| |De Leon, Hill, Huffman, Logue |
|-----+------------------------------|
| | |
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SUBJECT : Agricultural resources: grants.
SUMMARY : Allows the Department of Conservation (DOC) to make
grants for agriculture conservation easements (easements) under
certain conditions in order to protect natural resources on
agricultural lands that are compatible with agriculture.
Creates the Farm, Ranch, and Watershed Account within the Soil
Conservation Fund to provide funds for grants. Specifically,
this bill :
1) Allows DOC to make grants or disburse funds for a grant
for easements that meet all of the following requirements:
a) The main reason for the easement is consistent with
continuing agricultural use on the land;
b) The easement does not significantly prevent
agricultural use;
c) Any limits on current and foreseeable agricultural
use of the easement will be limited to land that is not
in cultivation;
d) If the easement land is identified as cultivated
land, the easement land is allowed to remain commercially
cultivated with the minimum restriction needed to meet
the easement requirements;
e) The nonagricultural characteristics protected by the
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easement are inherent to the easement land; and,
f) Any additional easements or deed restrictions placed
on easement land shall be secondary to the original
easement and require approval of DOC.
2) Requires any funding for easements under this section
not come from the California Farmland Conservancy Program
Fund (Fund).
3) Creates the Farm, Ranch, and Watershed Account within
the Soil Conservation Fund to provide funds for grants.
EXISTING LAW authorizes, pursuant to The California Farmland
Conservancy Program Act (CFCP), DOC to issue grants to local
governments, districts, and nonprofits to acquire agricultural
conservation easements to preserve farmland. These perpetual
easements keep agricultural land in private ownership while the
owners voluntarily agree to limit the land to agricultural use.
After 25 years or more, the land owner may ask DOC to terminate
an easement. To terminate an easement, the local government
must undertake an inquiry to determine the feasibility of
profitable farming on the subject land. DOC must make seven
specified findings before it can approve termination. If
termination is approved, the landowner must repurchase the
easement by paying the difference between the fair market value
of the land and its restricted value. (Public Resources Code
Section 10200, et seq.).
Establishes the Soil Conservation Fund. (Government Code Section
51203)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : For more then a decade, DOC has supported farmland
conservation by funding grants for easements through CFCP. In
authorizing CFCP, the Legislature recognized the contribution
farmland made to the state and local communities. Current
requirements state that CFCP's grants cannot make any
restriction on agricultural activities.
According to the author, this bill provides DOC with flexibility
and greater resources to preserve agricultural land through
easements that offer a public benefit and are compatible with
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agricultural use. Examples of a public benefit are flood
protection and wildlife habitat.
According to DOC's 2006 farmland conversion summary, 43,986
acres of farmland are converted to urban use during an average
year.
According to CFCP, an agricultural conservation easement is a
voluntary, legally recorded deed restriction that is placed on a
specific property used for agricultural production. The goal of
an agricultural conservation easement is to maintain
agricultural land in active production by removing the
development pressures from the land.
The author's office has technical amendments in order to add
co-authors.
PREVIOUS LEGISLATION : AB 929 (Blakeslee) of 2009 would have
authorized DOC to make grants for agriculture conservation
easements (easements) under certain conditions in order to
protect natural resources on agricultural lands that are
compatible with agriculture. This bill was placed on the Senate
Appropriation's suspense file.
AB 1180 (Blakeslee) of 2007 would have authorized DOC to issue
grants for specified agricultural conservation easements, and
prohibited the use of funds from the CFCP Fund for the new
easements authorized. This bill was placed on the Senate
Appropriation's suspense file.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Council of Land Trusts (sponsor)
American Land Conservancy
Amigo de Los Rios
Audubon California
Bay Area Open Space Council
Big Sur Land Trust
Bolsa Chica Land Trust
California Coastal Coalition
California League of Conservation Voters
California Rangelands Trust
Catalina Island Conservancy
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Central Valley Land Trust Council
Defenders of Wildlife
Eastern Sierra Land Trust
Feather River Land Trust
Lake County Land Trust
Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County
Land Trust of Napa County
Land Trust for Santa Barbara County
Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
Lassen Land & Trails Trust
Marin Agricultural Land Trust
Mendocino Land Trust
Mountain Meadows Conservancy
Muir Heritage Land Trust
Natural Resources Defense Council
Pacific Forest Trust
Peninsula Open Space Trust
Placer Land Trust
Planning and Conservation League
Preserve Calavera
Sanctuary Forest, Inc.
San Diego River Park Foundation
San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust
Save Mt. Diablo
Sempirvirens Fund
Sequoia Riverlands Trust
Shasta Land Trust
Sierra-Cascade Land Trust Council
Sierra Foothills Conservancy
Solano Land Trust
Sonoma Land Trust
Tri-Valley Conservancy
Truckee-Donner Land Trust
Trust for Public Land
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916)
319-2084