BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 668
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 29, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
SB 668 (Evans) - As Amended: June 22, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Local government: Williamson Act.
SUMMARY : Allows a city or county, to offset a reduction in
state subvention payments for the Williamson Act (Act), to
accept contributions from a nonprofit land-trust organization, a
nonprofit entity, or a public agency, for specific land that is
under an Act contract to supplement the city or county's
foregone property tax revenues. Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows a city or county to accept contributions from a
nonprofit land-trust organization, a nonprofit entity, or a
public agency for specific land that is under an Act contract
to supplement the city or county's foregone property tax
revenues, if the state fails to make all or part of its
subvention payments to the city or county.
2)Allows the contributor to contract with the owner of Act land,
with the approval of the city or county, to keep the property
under the Act contract in exchange for the contributor's
payment to the city or county, for up to 10 years or equal to
the contract.
3)Requires that a contract between the contributor and the
landowner be subject to any limitation in the contributor's
power.
4)Requires that a contract between the contributor and the
landowner not authorize or require the conversion of contract
land into a mitigation bank site.
5)Prohibits a city or county from requiring additional
conditions or restriction on the land or the land owner for
existing or future contracts, in executing the authority of
this chapter.
6)Specifies that this chapter does not limit the rights of
landowners to engage in other lawful contracts or transactions
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relating to their land or Act contracts.
7)Defines a "non-profit land-trust organization to mean a
501(c)(3) nonprofit tax exempt organization, that has among
its purposes the conservation of natural or cultural
resources, as specified.
8)Specifies that the measure sunset on January 1, 2016, unless
the Legislature extends or repeals that date
EXISTING LAW:
1)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. �Government Code Section (GOV)
51200-51207]
2)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 (GF) property tax
revenue, to revise the terms for new contracts. �GOV 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 agricultural 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. GF for Act subvention funding has been
eliminated from the state budget for the last few years.
According to the author's office the loss of GF subventions to
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backfill local government property tax revenue losses on land
under Williamson Act contracts threatens the continuation of
those contracts. This bill clarifies that local governments may
accept contributions from non-profits and land trusts to help
offset the reduction in state subventions. The author states
that this bill can be a tool for public agencies and non-profits
to protect agricultural lands vital to their interests.
This bill was heard in the Assembly Committee on Local
Government on June 15, 2011, where it passed out on a 9-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on File.
Analysis Prepared by : Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916)
319-2084