20250AB__131198AMD INTRODUCED 2025-02-21 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2025-03-28 2025 AB AMD Introduced by Assembly Member Hart LEAD_AUTHOR ASSEMBLY Hart

An act to amend Sections and of, and to add

Section 10334.5 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to land protection, and making an appropriation therefor. land protection, and making an appropriation therefor California Rangeland, Grazing Land, and Grassland Protection Program. Existing law establishes the California Rangeland, Grazing Land, and Grassland Protection Program to protect California’s rangeland, grazing land, and grasslands through the use of conservation easements, for specified purposes.

Existing law authorizes, under the program, funds to be expended by the Wildlife Conservation Board for the acquisition of conservation easements over qualified property, as defined, and authorizes the board to make grants of funds to a state agency, local public agency, or nonprofit organization for the acquisition of conservation easements over qualified property.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to this provision.</xhtml:p>"?> The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, approved by the voters as Proposition at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs.

The act makes available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, $870,000,000 to the board for grant programs to protect and enhance fish and wildlife resources and habitat and achieve the state’s biodiversity, public access, and conservation goals.

This bill would appropriate, from the above-described bond funds made available to the board, $400,000,000 to the board to award under the program as grants to eligible entities, as defined, to acquire conservation easements on qualified property that is privately owned and supports the production of food and fiber and ecosystem services, including, but not limited to, wildfire fuel reduction, groundwater recharge, wildlife habitat, and open vistas.

The bill would require the board to disburse the funds to grantees through grant agreements on or before June 30, 2028, and to allocate the funds to eligible entities across the state in a specified manner. The bill would require, on or before June 30, 2029, a grantee to expend the grant funds to acquire a conservation easement and record the conservation easement. The bill would authorize the board to partner with, and receive funds from, land trusts that are certified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, as provided.

MAJORITY YES YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (

a) In October 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued

Executive Order No. N-82-20, advancing biodiversity conservation as an administration priority and elevating the role of nature in the fight against climate change. As part of this executive order, California committed to the goal of conserving percent of the state’s lands and coastal waters by 2030, known as the 30x30 goal. (

b) In response, in April 2022, the Natural Resources Agency released the Pathways to 30x30 Report, which calls for an increase in voluntary conservation easements as a key pathway to achieve the 30x30 goal, including conserving an additional 6,000,000 acres of lands and 500,000 acres of coastal waters needed to reach the percent conservation goals by 2030. (

c) In 2024, the voters of California approved the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, which provided a source of funding for a comprehensive range of projects, including supporting California’s climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands. (

d) California’s working rangelands provide a myriad of ecosystem services to the people of California. (

e) Livestock grazing occurs on approximately 32,000,000 acres of California’s rangelands in all counties, of which 17,000,000 acres are privately owned and actively managed by their stewards. (

f) Livestock grazing can be used as an effective tool to establish and manage protective buffers against wildfire and help mitigate climate change. (

g) Livestock provide food, fiber, and food security and are important to California’s economy and historical heritage. The cattle industry specifically represents the third most valuable commodity in the state, having accounted for $4,760,000,000 in revenue in 2023. (

h) California’s rangelands are one of the world’s major biodiversity hot spots and support thousands of plants and animal species, many of which are listed as threatened or endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with

Section 2050) of Division of the Fish and Game Code) or the federal Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C.

Sec. 1531 et seq.). These rangelands and working lands also provide habitat connectivity, which is critical for the migration of many species of wildlife. (

i) California’s tourism and hunting economy depends on healthy game species that rely on California’s rangelands for their habitat. (

j) Proper grazing management maintains rangelands’ capacity to attenuate waterborne pollutants and supply clean water. (

k) The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of directly addresses the need to protect biodiversity. Subdivision (

a) of

Section of the Public Resources Code enumerates programs eligible for the bond funds, including, but not limited to, land acquisition; habitat enhancement and restoration; rangeland, grazing land, and grassland protection; inland wetland conservation; ecosystem restoration on agricultural lands; climate adaptation and resiliency; monarch butterfly and pollinator rescue; and oak woodland conservation. Sections and of the Public Resources Code also directly address improving climate resilience and the sustainability of farms, ranches, and working lands through the use of conservation easements. (

l) Voluntary conservation easements are a proven method that provides for the durable protection of these value landscapes at a fraction of the cost of fee ownership, while leaving the lands under private stewardship and on the property tax rolls. (

m) Voluntary conservation easements eliminate the need for local jurisdictions or state agencies to improve and manage these lands in perpetuity. (

n) There are over 300,000 acres of private working rangelands and agricultural property immediately available for voluntary protection through the use of conservation easements. (

o) Voluntary conservation of these private working rangelands by will greatly advance the achievement of the state’s 30x30 goal.

SEC. 2.

Section of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 10332. As used in this division, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) “Board” means the Wildlife Conservation Board created pursuant to

Article 2 (commencing with

Section 1320) of

Chapter of Division of the Fish and Game Code. (b) “Conservation easement” means a conservation easement, as defined by

Section 815.1 of the Civil Code, that is perpetual. (c) “Eligible entity” means an entity that meets all of the following criteria:

(1) The entity has received accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission at the time of applying for a grant.

(2) The entity demonstrates the capacity to acquire an conservation easement within months of the award of a grant.

(3) The entity demonstrates the financial capacity to comply with perpetual stewardship monitoring requirements associated with accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. (c)</xhtml:p>"?> (d) “Local public agency” means a city, county, city and county, resource conservation district, district formed pursuant to

Article 3 (commencing with

Section 5500) of

Chapter of Division 5, authority formed pursuant to Division 26 (commencing with

Section 35100), or joint powers authority made up of two or more local public agencies and one or more state agencies. (d)</xhtml:p>"?> (e) “Nonprofit organization” means a nonprofit public benefit corporation formed pursuant to the Nonprofit Corporation Law (Division 2 (commencing with

Section 5000) of Title of the Corporations Code), qualified to do business in California, and qualified under

Section 501(c)(3) of Title of the Internal Revenue Code as a tax-exempt corporation that has as a principal purpose the conservation of land and water resources. (e)</xhtml:p>"?> (f) “Property” means real property, and a perpetual interest therein, including land, conservation easements, and land containing water rights. (f)</xhtml:p>"?> (g) “Qualified property” means property that is rangeland, grazing land, or grassland and is used or is suitable for grazing; is zoned for agricultural grazing, or open-space use; and is used or suitable for habitat for aquatic or terrestrial wildlife species or native plants. (g)</xhtml:p>"?> (h) “State agency” means a public entity created by statute within the Natural Resources Agency.

SEC. 3.

Section of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 10334. Except as specified in

Section 10334.5, funds may be expended by the board for the acquisition of conservation easements over qualified property pursuant to the authority granted to the board under

Section of the Fish and Game Code. The board may also make grants of funds to a state agency, local public agency, or nonprofit organization for the acquisition of conservation easements over qualified property.

SEC.

Section 10334.5 is added to the Public Resources Code , to read: 10334.5. (

a) Of the amount described in subdivision (

a) of

Section 93010, the sum of four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Fund to the board for the purposes described in this

section and consistent with this division. (

b) The board shall award the funds described in subdivision (

a) as grants to eligible entities to acquire conservation easements on qualified property that is privately owned and supports the production of food and fiber and ecosystem services, including, but not limited to, wildfire fuel reduction, groundwater recharge, wildlife habitat, and open vistas. A grant awarded to an eligible entity may comprise both of the following amounts:

(1) Up to percent of the appraised value of a conservation easement, as determined by a qualified appraisal that has been reviewed and approved by the Department of General Services.

(2) Up to seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for expenses related to the processing of a conservation easement. (c)

(1) On or before June 30, 2027, the board shall disburse percent of the funds described in subdivision (

a) to grantees through grant agreements.

(2) On or before June 30, 2028, the board shall disburse the remaining percent of the funds described in subdivision (

a) to grantees through grant agreements. (d)

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the board shall allocate the funds described in subdivision (

a) as follows: (

A) Twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) to eligible entities in the northern region, consisting of the Counties of Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity. (

B) Forty million dollars ($40,000,000) to eligible entities in the north coast region, consisting of the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, and Sonoma. (

C) Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) to eligible entities in the mountain region, consisting of the Counties of Alpine, El Dorado, Mono, Nevada, Placer, and Sierra. (

D) Twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) to eligible entities in the Sacramento Valley region, consisting of the Counties of Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Sacramento, Solano, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba. (

E) Fifty-five million dollars ($55,000,000) to eligible entities in the San Joaquin Valley region, consisting of the Counties of Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne. (

F) Seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000) to eligible entities in the bay area region, consisting of the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and San Mateo. (

G) Ninety-five million dollars ($95,000,000) to eligible entities in the central coast region, consisting of the Counties of Monterey, San Benito, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. (

H) Five million dollars ($5,000,000) to eligible entities in the desert region, consisting of the Counties of Inyo and San Bernardino. (

I) Seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000) to eligible entities in the southern region, consisting of the Counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Ventura.

(2) If the board determines, on or before June 30, 2027, that it is unable to allocate funds in accordance with paragraph (1) due to a lack of demand, the board may, in its discretion, reallocate those funds to another region where there is a higher demand. (

e) On or before June 30, 2029, a grantee shall expend the grant funds to acquire a conservation easement and record the conservation easement. (

f) The board may partner with, and receive funds from, land trusts that are certified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture under the federal Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, as part of the Agricultural Land Easement component of the program, for purposes of implementing this section. <caml:Num>SECTION 1.</caml:Num><caml:ActionLine action="IS_AMENDED" xlink:href="urn:caml:codes:PRC:caml#xpointer(%2Fcaml%3ALawDoc%2Fcaml%3ACode%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'DIVISION'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'10.4.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawSection%5Bcaml%3ANum%3D'10331.'%5D)" xlink:label="fractionType: LAW_SECTION" xlink:type="locator">Section of the <caml:DocName>Public Resources Code</caml:DocName> is amended to read:</caml:ActionLine><caml:Fragment><caml:LawSection id="id_67B77E59-C7A0-41D9-8BD3-590FA9E9937E"><caml:Num>10331.</caml:Num><caml:LawSectionVersion id="id_7671FD2C-0939-4C35-85A8-B2B7CF3259F0"><caml:Content><xhtml:p>The California Rangeland, Grazing Land, and Grassland Protection Program is hereby established to protect the state’s rangeland, grazing land, and grasslands through the use of conservation easements, for the following purposes:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>To prevent the conversion of rangeland, grazing land, and grassland to nonagricultural uses.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>To protect the long-term sustainability of livestock grazing.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>To ensure continued wildlife, water quality, watershed, and open-space benefits to the state from livestock grazing.</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:LawSectionVersion></caml:LawSection></caml:Fragment></caml:BillSection>"?>