March 5, 2014

The Honorable Tom Daly Chair, Assembly Budget Subcommittee #4 State Capitol, Room 4166 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE:

The Honorable Richard Roth Chair, Senate Budget Subcommittee #4 State Capitol, Room 4034 Sacramento, CA 95814

Williamson Act Subvention Payments Item 9100

Dear Assembly Member Daly and Senator Roth: On behalf of the undersigned, we are writing to urge you to support funding for The California Land Conservation Act (Williamson Act) Subvention payments to counties and cities pursuant to Government Code Section 16140. The Governors proposed Budget contains a token $1,000.00 for county and city subvention payments. The Williamson Act is a state established program that preserves agricultural and open space lands through property tax incentives and voluntary restrictive use contracts. Private landowners, in exchange for lower property taxes, enter into rolling 10 or 20 year contractual commitments with participating counties and cities to keep their land in agricultural and/or compatible open space use. The Williamson Act has been very effective, protecting over 16.5 million acres or nearly one-third of all privately owned land in California.

The Honorable Daly and Roth March 5, 2014 Page 2 The Williamson Act was intended to be a partnership between the state, counties, cities and landowners. Counties and cities, in exchange for implementing the State goal of farm and ranch land preservation, were to receive a partial replacement of their foregone property tax from the land enrolled in the program. State subventions have not been paid since 2009, and counties and cities are struggling to meet their responsibilities under the Williamson Act as a result. In recent history, State funding for Williamson Act subventions was between $35 million and $39 million until the funding was eliminated in the 2009-10 State Budget. Our organizations strongly believe that keeping this program going is a highly cost-effective way to slow development of agricultural and open space lands. For the reasons stated we urge the California Legislature and the Governor to recommit and once again partner with counties, cities and landowners to preserve these important lands by funding the Williamson Act Subvention Program in the 2014-2015 State Budget. Sincerely,

Kathy Mannion Rural County Representatives of California

Pablo Garza The Nature Conservancy

Karen Keene California State Association of Counties

John Gamper California Farm Bureau Federation

David Snow American Planning Association-CA Chapter

Greg Suba California Native Plant Society

Barbara LaVake California Women for Agriculture

Pamela Miller California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions

The Honorable Daly and Roth March 5, 2014 Page 3

Dave Runsten Community Alliance With Family Farmers

Nita Vail California Rangeland Trust

Jeanne Merrill
Tim Schmelzer Wine Institute Jeanne Merrill California Climate & Agriculture Network

Matt Siverling
Steve Frisch Sierra Business Council Matt Siverling California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association

Liberty Sanchez
Liberty Sanchez United Public Employees of California Local 792 Brendon Flynn Sacramento Valley Landowners Association

Justin Oldfield California Cattlemens Association

Brenda Coleman California Association of Wingrape Growers

Lesa Eidman California Wool Growers Association

Michael Marsh Western United Dairymen

The Honorable Daly and Roth March 5, 2014 Page 4

Richard Lyon California Building Industry Association

Edward Thompson, Jr. American Farmland Trust

Mark Biddlecomb Ducks Unlimited, Inc.

Doug Burge California Thoroughbred Breeders Association

John Zamrzla
Jason Rhine League of California Cities John Zamrzla California Horse Council

Dominic Alessio
Emily Rooney Agricultural Council of California Dominic Alessio Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association

cc:

Members of Assembly Budget Subcommittee #4 Assembly Members Morrell, Mullen, Nazarian, Wagner Members of Senate Budget Subcommittee #4 Senators Berryhill and Torres Governor Jerry Brown President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, CA State Senate Speaker John Perez, CA State Assembly Secretary John Laird, Natural Resources Agency Secretary Karen Ross, Department of Food and Agriculture Director Mark Nechodom, Department of Conservation Committee Consultants Republican Consultants