BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 668|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 668
Author: Evans (D)
Amended: 6/22/11
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/4/11
AYES: Wolk, Huff, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hancock, Hernandez,
Kehoe, La Malfa, Liu
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 5/23/11 (Consent)
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Hernandez,
Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal,
Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner,
Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk,
Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 7/7/11 (Consent)
SUBJECT : Local government: Williamson Act
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows a city or county to accept
contributions from a nonprofit, a land-trust organization,
a nonprofit entity, or a public agency for specific land
that is under a Williamson Act contract to supplement the
city or county's foregone property tax revenues. This
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authority applies if the state fails to make all or part of
its subvention payments to the city or county.
Assembly Amendments prohibit a city or county from
requiring additional conditions or restriction on the land
or the landowner for existing or future contracts, in
executing the authority of this bill, and specifies that
this bill does not limit the rights of landowners to engage
in other lawful contracts or transactions relating to their
land or Williamson Act contracts.
ANALYSIS : Landowners and local officials can cooperate
to conserve agricultural and open space land under a
three-part scheme:
Voluntary contracts that restrict land use under the
Williamson Act. These contracts run for 10 years (or 20
years in the case of the Farmland Security Zones) and
automatically renew each year for an additional year.
Reduced property tax assessments for those contracted
lands.
State subventions to replace the foregone property tax
revenues.
This bill allows a city or county to accept contributions
from a nonprofit, a land-trust organization, a nonprofit
entity, or a public agency for specific land that is under
a Williamson Act contract to supplement the city or
county's foregone property tax revenues. This authority
applies if the state fails to make all or part of its
subvention payments to the city or county.
This bill allows the contributor to contract with the owner
of Williamson Act land, with the approval of the city or
county, to keep the property under the Williamson Act
contract in exchange for the contributor's payment to the
city or county.
This bill requires that a contract between the contributor
and the landowner be subject to any limitation in the
contributor's power. The contract cannot allow or require
the land's conversion into a mitigation bank site.
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These provisions automatically terminate on January 1,
2016, unless the Legislature extends or repeals that date.
The contract between the contributor and the landowner
remains in effect until it terminates, for up to 10 years.
This bill prohibits a city or county from requiring
additional conditions or restriction on the land or the
landowner for existing or future contracts, in executing
the authority of this bill, and specifies that this bill
does not limit the rights of landowners to engage in other
lawful contracts or transactions relating to their land or
Williamson Act contracts.
Background
Approximately 16.6 million acres are under Williamson Act
contracts. In 2007, when 15.6 million acres were eligible
for state subventions, local officials claimed $37.7
million in direct General Fund payments. Successive budget
cuts have essentially eliminated the subventions to
counties by cutting the appropriation to $1,000.
In March 2010, the Senate Local Government Committee held
an oversight hearing on the Williamson Act. Counties,
landowners, and conservation groups urged legislators to
find other revenues to restore the state subventions to
counties. Without subventions, counties told legislators
that they were unlikely to continue participation in the
Williamson Act.
Legislators responded by creating a temporary program that
counties can use when the state government does not pay its
full subvention. Counties can shorten the Williamson Act
contracts, revalue the contracted land, and receive the
increased revenues (AB 2530 �Nielsen], Chapter 391,
Statutes of 2010; SB 863 �Senate Budget and Fiscal Review
Committee], Chapter 722, Statutes of 2010). By January
2011, eight counties had decided to implement that
approach: Kings, Madera, Mendocino, Merced, Shasta,
Stanislaus, Tulare, and Yolo.
Other counties stopped accepting new contracts, but
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continue to look for different ways to replace their
foregone property tax revenues. Other local agencies and
private conservation groups worry what will become of
farms, ranches, and open space if county officials stop
participating in the Williamson Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 7/7/11 (Consent)
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth
Gaines, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman,
Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, 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: Davis, Eng, Galgiani, Gorell, Logue,
Nielsen
AGB:mw 7/7/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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