BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 781
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
AB 781 (John A. Pérez) - As Amended: March 23, 2011
SUBJECT : Preservation of lands: open-space subventions.
SUMMARY : This bill would authorize a city, county, or city and
county to accept contributions from public and private entities
to compensate for a reduction in state subvention payments for
the Williamson Act (Act).
EXISTING LAW creates the Act, also known as the California Land
Conservation Act of 1965, which authorizes cities and counties
to enter into agricultural land preservation contracts with
landowners who agree to restrict the use of their land for a
minimum of 10 years in exchange for lower-assessed valuations
for property tax purposes. ŬGovernment Code Section (GOV)
51200-51207]
It also authorizes a county, until January 1, 2015, in any
fiscal year in which payments authorized for reimbursement to a
county for lost revenue from Act contracts are less than
one-half of the county's actual foregone general fund property
tax revenue, to revise the terms for new contracts. ŬGOV 16142,
51244]
FISCAL EFFECT : Legislative counsel has keyed this bill
non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : The Act conserves agricultural and open space land by
allowing private property owners to sign voluntary contracts
with counties and cities, restricting their land to agriculture,
open space, and compatible uses. In return, county assessors
must lower the assessed value of the contracted lands to reflect
their use as agriculture or open space instead of the market
value. Making sure that private property owners use their Act
land appropriately is essential to maintaining the statute's
constitutional integrity.
Approximately 16.6 million acres are under Act contracts. When
the 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
AB 781
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cuts came in 2008-09 when a budget trailer bill reduced the
state subventions by 10%. The Legislature's 2009-10 Budget
reduced the subventions to $27.8 million. However, the Act was
essentially eliminated when the subventions appropriation was
reduced to $1,000. Last year, the Legislature authorized $10
million to subvention payments to counties under the Act. This
funding was removed from the 2010-11 budget.
According to discussion with the author's office, this bill is
designed to maximize the available sources of funding that may
be used to support counties that promote farmland preservation
by entering into Act contracts with farmland owners. Supporters
state that this bill will help preserve important local
government revenues and continue protecting private landowners
willing to keep needed land under Act contracts.
RELATED LEGISLATION: AB 80 (Senate Committee on Budget and
Fiscal Review), Chapter 11, Statutes of 2011, repealed existing
law appropriating $10 million from the General Fund (GF) to the
Controller for the 2010-11 fiscal year to make subvention
payments to counties under the Act, along with other budgetary
action.
AB 1265 (Nielsen) of 2011 authorizes a county, until January 1,
2015, in any fiscal year in which payments authorized for
reimbursement to a county for lost revenue from Act contracts is
less than one-half of the county's actual foregone GF property
tax revenue, to revise the terms for new contracts. This bill
is currently set for hearing on May 4, 2011 in the Assembly
Committee on Local Government.
AB 1266 (Nielsen) of 2011 specifies matters on which an Act
advisory board may advise the legislative body of a county or
city. This bill is currently set for hearing on May 4, 2011 in
the Assembly Committee on Local Government.
SB 648 (Tom Berryhill) of 2011 provides an alternative method of
cancellation of an Act contract by a landowner for contracts
that are 10 or more years old, and where the landowner has not
received a lowered assessment value on the land during the
previous 10 consecutive years based on the existence of a
residence, including agricultural laborer housing, on the land
being valued. This bill is currently in the Senate Committee on
Governance and Finance.
AB 781
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SB 668 (Evans) of 2011 authorizes an open-space district, a
land-trust organization, or a nonprofit entity, to enter into an
Act contract with a landowner who has also entered into an Act
contract, upon approval of the city or county that holds the Act
contract, to keep that landowner's land in contract under the
Act, for a period of up to 10 years in exchange for the
open-space district's, land-trust organization's, or nonprofit
entity's payment of all or a portion of the foregone property
tax revenue to the county, where the state has failed to
reimburse the city or county for property tax revenues not
received as a result of Act contracts. This bill is currently
set for hearing on May 4, 2011 in the Senate Committee on
Governance and Finance.
SB 863 (Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter
722, Statutes of 2010, made various changes to state laws
governing local government contracts entered into pursuant to
the Act and state laws governing community redevelopment
agencies.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Audubon California
Big Sur Land Trust
Sonoma County Agriculture Preservation and Open Space District
Tulare Basin Wildlife Partners
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916)
319-2084