Land conservation: subventions to local government: funding.

Existing law, known as the California Land Conservation Act of 1965, or the Williamson Act, authorizes a city or county, by contract, to limit the uses of land to agricultural uses or as an agricultural preserve in exchange for reduced property taxes. Existing law provides replacement revenues to local governments by reason of the reduction of the property tax on open-space lands assessed under specified provisions of the Revenue and Taxation Code (subvention payments) , including lands enrolled under the Williamson Act. Existing law continuously appropriates to the Controller from the General Fund a sum sufficient to make the payments required under those provisions. This bill would appropriate $36,000,000 from the General Fund to the Controller, for subvention payments for those parcels enrolled under the Williamson Act for purposes of making those payments during the 2010–11 fiscal year.