Resource conservation: resource conservation districts.

(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Conservation and requires it to provide soil conservation advisory services to local governments, land owners, farmers and ranchers, resource conservation districts, and the general public, as provided. This bill would delete this provision. The bill would authorize the department to have certain powers and duties pertaining to resource conservation activities and programs, including serving as a state-level liaison with resource conservation districts. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, as provided, the bill would authorize the department to provide grants and other forms of local assistance to resource conservation districts. (2) 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 resource conservation district, among other things, to, with the consent of the owner, construct on privately or publicly owned lands any necessary works for the prevention and control of soil erosion and erosion stabilization. Existing law authorizes directors of the resource conservation districts to accept, administer, and manage soil conversion, water conversion, water distribution, erosion control, or erosion prevention projects, as provided. This bill would authorize a resource conservation district to be formed to provide resource conservation services for the protection, conservation, restoration, or enhancement of natural resources, as provided. The bill would also authorize a resource conservation district to, with the consent of the owner, construct on privately or publicly owned lands any necessary works for the protection, conservation, restoration, or enhancement of natural resources, the improvement or enhancement of adaptation or resilience to climate change, or the mitigation or sequestration of carbon emissions, and to develop and implement projects and programs for the conservation, enhancement, restoration, adaptation, and resilience of soil, water, and biodiversity and related natural resource conservation. The bill would authorize directors of the resource conservation districts to accept, administer, and manage specified projects and programs consistent with these purposes, among other things. The bill would authorize a resource conservation district to enter into an interagency agreement with a state agency, as provided. (3) Existing law authorizes the department to provide grants to resource conservation districts for the purpose of assisting the districts in carrying out any work that they are authorized to undertake. Existing law requires a resource conservation district, in order to qualify for a grant, to provide at least a 25% local match of funding, as provided. Existing law requires the department to give preference in the awarding of grants to those districts that provide a greater percentage of local match funding, as provided. This bill would delete the requirement that the department give the above described preference in the awarding of grants. The bill would instead authorize the department to waive the local match of funding requirement, described above, if the district meets one of a list of specified conditions, as provided. (4) Existing law requires the lands included in resource conservation districts to be those generally of value for agricultural purposes, but authorizes other lands to be included if necessary, as provided. Existing law provides that the lands included in any one resource conservation district need not be contiguous, but requires the land to be susceptible of the same general plan or system, as provided. This bill would instead require the lands to be included in a resource conservation district to be those that further existing law relating to resource conservation districts, including the purposes described above. The bill would delete the requirement that the lands be susceptible of the same general plan or system, as provided. (5) 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 resource conservation district to develop a long-range work plan, annual work plan, and annual district report to address specified projects and programs. The bill would require resource conservation districts that prepare long-range work plans and annual work plans to provide, for informational purposes only, long-range work plans, and updates to these plans, and annual work plans to the boards of supervisors of every county with land in the district's jurisdiction and to certain boards and councils of other public agencies, 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. (6) Existing law provides that the sale or conveyance of any property held by a resource conservation district, when the property is sold for valuable consideration, shall convey good title to the property. Existing law requires the proceeds of a sale of that property to be paid into the county treasury of the principal county for the use of the district. This bill would require, if the resource conservation district operates in a specified manner, the proceeds of a sale of that property to be paid to the district treasury.