Local government: Williamson Act.

The California Land Conservation Act of 1965, otherwise known as the Williamson Act, authorizes cities and counties to enter into 10-year contracts with landowners whereby the landowner agrees to restrict the use of his or her land in exchange for a reduced property taxation rate. Under existing law, the city or county receives a subvention for the property tax revenue lost as a result of these contracts. This bill would, until January 1, 2016, authorize a nonprofit land-trust organization, a nonprofit entity, or a public agency to enter into a contract with a landowner who has also entered into a Williamson Act contract, upon approval of the city or county that holds the Williamson Act contract, to keep that landowner's land in contract under the Williamson Act, for a period of up to 10 years in exchange for the open-space district's, land-trust organization's, or nonprofit entity's payment of all or a portion of the foregone property tax revenue to the county, where the state has failed to reimburse, or reduced the subvention to, the city or county for property tax revenues not received as a result of Williamson Act contracts.