Williamson Act 

SB 618 (Wolk) – Request for Comments
As Introduced February 18, 2011

SB 618, by Senator Lois Wolk, would allow non-prime, marginally productive or physically impaired land currently under a Williamson Act contract to be converted to an open-space easement agreement for the purpose of siting large-scale solar facilities provided certain conditions are met. Even though the determination of compatibility is still made at the local level, current law includes principles of compatibility for uses on Williamson Act land. Under the Williamson Act, the erection, construction, alteration, or maintenance of gas, electric, water, communication, or agricultural laborer housing facilities are considered compatible uses within any agricultural preserve. 

This bill would add renewable energy to the list of compatible uses for non-prime land. SB 618 has been referred to the Senate Government and Finance Committee. 


SB 648 (Berryhill) – Request for Comments
As Introduced February 18, 2011

SB 648, by Senator Tom Berryhill, would provide an alternative method for canceling certain Williamson Act contracts. The bill would prohibit the County Board of Supervisors from charging a cancellation fee to landowner that petitioned the Board and provided a showing that the following conditions exist. Conditions include 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. Currently, the immediate cancellation of a contract carries a significant penalty that ranges from 12.5 percent of the current market value to 25 percent depending on the jurisdiction and the length of the contract. This bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Government and Finance. 


SB 668 (Evans) – Request for Comments
As Introduced February 18, 2011

SB 668, by Senator Noreen Evans, would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would authorize local governments to accept donations from private entities to offset any reduced amount the local government receives in subvention payments for Williamson Act contracts. This bill has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee. 


AB 1265 (Nielsen) – Support
As Introduced February 18, 2011

AB 1265, by Assembly Member Jim Nielsen, is clean-up language to last year’s SB 863, the Williamson Act alternative funding option. As you may recall, SB 863 allowed counties to reduce the terms of Williamson Act contracts if less than half of the subventions were received from the state. The county would the be able to revise the term for newly renewed and new contracts for a term of 9 years or 18 years and require the assessor to value the property, as specified, based on the revised contract term, 10% less. In exchange, landowners would make an additional payment to the county general fund in an amount equal to 10% of their existing net benefit under the WA. This alternative funding option includes a sunset date of January 1, 2015. This bill would specify that payments authorized under SB 863 until January 1, 2015, may be collected after January 1, 2015. This bill has not yet been referred to Committee.

Draft AB 3098 Mining Regulations

The Policy and Legislation Committee of the State Mining and Geology Board will be meeting March 10, 2011 to discuss language for Regulatory Due Process for the Placement of Mining Operations on, or Removal from, the AB 3098 List. The agenda is available on the Board’s website.

A preliminary review of the draft regulations indicates that they include over-reaching language allowing the Department of Conservation to determine whether a mining operation is in violation of its existing local land use permit. The draft regulations also include language stating that in order for a mining operation to obtain placement on the AB 3098 list, the petition must be accompanied by a declaration from the lead local agency under the penalty of perjury that the mining operation meets certain standards. 

For more information on the draft regulations, click here.