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Nielsen Bill
To Protect the Williamson Act Passes
Assembly Floor – Sent To Governor’s Desk
(Sacramento) –Assembly
Bill 1265, The Williamson Act,
introduced by Assemblyman Jim Nielsen
(R-Gerber), passed unanimously on the
Assembly Floor yesterday. AB 1265 would
allow counties to voluntarily implement new
land preservation contracts that are ten
percent shorter in return for a ten percent
reduction in the landowner’s property tax
relief.
“I am pleased that
the Legislature once again has affirmed the
importance of preserving and protecting
California’s agricultural lands,” said
Nielsen.
AB 1265 re-instates the
Williamson Act subvention program that was
authored by Assemblyman Nielsen last year
(Senate Bill 865 and Assembly Bill 2530).
The language of SB 863 and AB 2530 was
eliminated with the passage of Governor
Brown’s budget bill (SB 80) earlier this
year.
Approximately half of
California’s farmland (16.6 million acres)
is under Williamson Act contracts. The
Williamson Act is a three way partnership
between landowners, counties, and the state.
Landowners agree to forego the possibility
of developing their land during the term of
the 10 or 20 year Williamson Act contract in
return for lower property taxes.
AB 1265 would also
allow participating landowners to opt out of
the new shorter contracts and lesser
benefits by simply exiting the program
through notice of nonrenewal. If landowners
agree to enter into contracts that are 10
percent shorter than a standard Williamson
Act contract, they would still save 90
percent of their property tax relief and
counties would be encouraged to stay in the
program. Without AB 1265, the only
alternative for counties that cannot afford
the loss of subventions would be mass
contract non-renewals
Assemblyman
Nielsen represents the Second Assembly
District, which includes:
Butte,
Colusa, Glenn, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou,
Sutter, Tehama and Yolo counties.
For more information on Assemblyman Jim
Nielsen, visit his official web site |
