BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1266|
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                                    CONSENT


          Bill No:  AB 1266
          Author:   Nielsen (R)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE  :  9-0, 7/06/11
          AYES:  Wolk, Huff, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hancock, Hernandez, 
            Kehoe, La Malfa, Liu

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  78-0, 5/19/11 (Consent) - See last page 
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Local government:  Williamson Act:  
          agricultural preserves: 
                      Advisory board

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill lists topics about which Williamson 
          Act advisory boards may advise the legislative body of a 
          city or county.

          ANALYSIS  :    The Williamson Act conserves agricultural and 
          open space land under a three-part scheme that involves 
          voluntary contracts between landowners and the county (or 
          city) that enforceably restricts land uses, reduced 
          property tax assessments, and state subventions to make up 
          for the lost revenues.  A county board of supervisors or 
          city council may appoint an advisory board to give advice 
          on agricultural preserves and Williamson Act contracts.
                                                           CONTINUED





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          This bill creates a nonexclusive list of topics about which 
          a Williamson Act advisory board may advise a county board 
          of supervisors or city council: program benefits, costs, 
          amendments, and landowner participation.  This bill 
          declares that this statutory provision is not the exclusive 
          manner to receive advice.

           Comments
           
          The Williamson 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 agricultural or 
          open space instead of reflecting the market value.  Making 
          sure that private property owners use their Williamson Act 
          land appropriately is essential to maintaining the 
          statute's constitutional integrity.  There are 
          approximately 16.6 million acres under Williamson Act 
          contracts. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES: Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill 
            Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, 
            Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, 
            Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, 
            Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, 
            Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, 
            Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger 
            Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, 
            Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, 
            Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, 
            Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, 
            Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, 
            Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, 
            John A. P�rez
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Gorell








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          AGB:do  7/7/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                       SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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