Resource conservation districts.

(1) Existing law authorizes a resource conservation district to be formed, as provided, for the control of runoff, the prevention or control of soil erosion, the development and distribution of water, and the improvement of land capabilities. Existing law authorizes a proposal to form a resource conservation district by a petition of registered voters or by the adoption of a resolution of application. Existing law authorizes a county, pursuant to a resolution adopted by a its board of supervisors, to lend any of its available funds to specified districts, including recreation and park districts, as provided. This bill would also authorize a county to lend available funds to a resource conservation district, as provided. (2) Existing law establishes the California Land Conservation Act of 1965, otherwise known as the Williamson Act, and authorizes a city or county to enter into 10-year contracts with owners of land devoted to agricultural use, whereby the owners agree to continue using the property for that purpose, and the city or county agrees to value the land accordingly for purposes of property taxation, as specified. Existing law authorizes the cancellation of a Williamson Act contract under certain circumstances, and authorizes the city or county to charge a cancellation fee, as provided. Existing law requires these cancellation fees to be transmitted by the county treasurer to the Controller upon collection, and specifies that those cancellation fees are to be deposited in the General Fund, except for the first $5,000,000 of those cancellation fees in the 2004–05 fiscal year and any other amount as approved in the final Budget Act for each fiscal year thereafter, which are required to be deposited in the Soil Conservation Fund to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature to support, among other things, a specified soil conservation program and the costs to the Department of Conservation for administering specified provisions of the act pertaining to identifying structures that constitute material breaches of contract and providing an alternate remedy to a contract cancellation petition of the landowner. Instead of making cancellation fee moneys in that fund available upon appropriation by the Legislature to support that soil conservation program and the costs to the department for administering those provisions pertaining to identifying structures that constitute material breaches of contract and providing an alternative remedy to a contract cancellation petition of the landowner, this bill would make that cancellation fee moneys in that fund available upon appropriation by the Legislature to support costs of the Director of Conservation to carry out certain powers and duties. (3) Existing law establishes the State Resource Conservation Commission and the Division of Resource Conservation in the Department of Conservation and prescribes the powers and duties of the commission and the division with regard to the implementation of resource conservation services and programs. Existing law requires the Chief of the Division of Resource Conservation to assist in the formation, organization, and operation of resource conservation districts, as provided. This bill would, among other things, abolish the State Resource Conservation Commission and the Division of Resource Conservation. The bill would authorize the Director of Conservation to have powers and duties pertaining to resource conservation activities and programs, including providing specified funding. The bill would require a resource conservation district to be certified by the department as meeting specified criteria in order to be eligible for this funding. The bill would require the department to, on or before December 31 of each year, to post on its internet website a list of resource conservation districts that have been certified. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the bill would authorize a state agency to enter into an interagency agreement with a resource conservation district for the district to provide conservation services, as specified. The bill would provide grants and other forms of local assistance to resource conservation districts meeting certain requirements. The bill would make conforming changes. (4) Existing law authorizes resource conservation districts to develop districtwide comprehensive annual and long-range work plans to address the full range of soil and related resource problems. Existing law prescribes various requirements for the contents of the plans and reports and when specified plans and reports are required to be adopted or completed, as provided. This bill would instead authorize each district to develop a long-range work plan, annual work plan, and annual district report to address the full range of projects that protect, conserve, restore, or enhance natural resources, or improve or enhance adaptation or resilience to climate change, or mitigate or sequester carbon emissions on natural lands and working lands, as defined, as provided. The bill would require districts that prepare long-range work plans and annual work plans to provide, for information purposes only, long-range work plans and annual work plans and updates to these plans to the boards of supervisors of every county with land in the district's jurisdiction, as provided. The bill would update the dates when specified plans and reports are required to be adopted or completed, as provided, among other things.