California 2013-2014 Regular Session Status: Enacted

AB 551 — Local government: urban agriculture incentive zones.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 406, Statutes of 2013.

Track this bill free

No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 20, 2013. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 72% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 9 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

(1) Existing law, the Williamson Act, 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. Existing law authorizes the parties to a Williamson Act contract to mutually agree to rescind a contract under the act in order to simultaneously enter into an open-space easement for a certain period of years. This bill would enact the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act and would authorize, under specified conditions and until January 1, 2019, a city, county, or city and county and a landowner to enter into a contract to enforceably restrict the use of vacant, unimproved, or otherwise blighted lands for small-scale production of agricultural crops and animal husbandry. The bill would require a contract entered into pursuant to these provisions to, among other things, be for a term of no less than 5 years and to enforceably restrict property that is at least 0.10 acres in size. (2) Existing law requires the county assessor to consider, when valuing real property for property taxation purposes, the effect of any enforceable restrictions to which the use of the land may be subjected. Under existing law these restrictions include, but are not limited to, zoning, recorded contracts with governmental agencies, and various other restrictions imposed by governments. This bill would require the county assessor to value property that is enforceably restricted by a contract entered into pursuant to the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act at the rate based on the average per-acre value of irrigated cropland in California, adjusted proportionally to reflect the acreage of the property under contract, as most recently published by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. The bill would also require the State Board of Equalization to post the per-acre land value as published by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the United States Department of Agriculture on its Internet Web site within 30 days of publication, and to provide the rate to county assessors no later than January 1 of each assessment year.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 406, Statutes of 2013.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

  4. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 69. Noes 6. Page 3103.).

  5. Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Ayes 53. Noes 25. Page 3064.)

  6. Assembly Rule 77 suspended. (Ayes 53. Noes 25. Page 3064.)

  7. In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after September 11 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

  8. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 2252.).

  9. Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading.

  10. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 30).

  11. In committee: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  12. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  13. In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  14. Measure version as amended on July 9 corrected.

  15. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  16. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (July 3).

  17. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on GOV. & F.

  18. In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  19. Referred to Com. on GOV. & F.

  20. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  21. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 1746.)

  22. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  23. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  24. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) .

  25. In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  26. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  27. Read second time and amended.

  28. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 24).

  29. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 17). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

  30. Re-referred to Com. on AGRI.

  31. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on AGRI. Read second time and amended.

  32. Re-referred to Com. on AGRI.

  33. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on AGRI. Read second time and amended.

  34. Referred to Coms. on AGRI. and L. GOV.

  35. From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.

  36. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Alejo · Cosponsor
  • Ting · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 120 not signed on · 2 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Ting

Co-sponsors (1)

  • Alejo

Not signed on (120)

120 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 120 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Passed 69 Yea · 6 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 63503
Democratic 4000
Republican 2100
Total 69603
% of votes cast 88%8%0%4%
How each member voted (78)
Member Party Vote
Achadjian — Yea
Ammiano — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Brown — Yea
Buchanan — Yea
Holden — Yea
Linder — Yea
Logue — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Mansoor — Not Voting
Skinner — Yea
Wagner — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Campos — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Allen — Yea
Lowenthal — Yea
Hagman — Yea
Garcia — Yea
Gray — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Hall — Yea
Fong — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Levine — Yea
Medina — Yea
Melendez — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Alejo — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Daly — Yea
Dickinson — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Olsen — Yea
Pan — Yea
Perea — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Williams — Yea
John A. Pérez — Yea
Salas — Yea
Chau — Yea
Gordon — Not Voting
Chesbro — Yea
Harkey — Nay
Chávez — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Conway — Yea
Donnelly — Nay
Morrell — Yea
Nestande — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Ting — Yea
Weber — Yea
Fox — Not Voting
Gatto — Yea
Yamada — Yea
Gorell — Yea
Beth Gaines — Yea
Jim Patterson — Nay
Lorena Gonzalez — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
V. Manuel Pérez — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea

Official roll call →

3rd Reading AB551 Ting By Beall

Passed 39 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 36000
Democratic 3000
Total 39000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (39)
Member Party Vote
Anderson — Yea
Beall — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Knight — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Vidak — Yea
Wolk — Yea
Wyland — Yea
Cannella — Yea
Evans — Yea
Fuller — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
De León — Yea
Block — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Huff — Yea
Lara — Yea
Leno — Yea
Lieu — Yea
Liu — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Roth — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Torres — Yea
Walters — Yea
Wright — Yea
Hill — Yea
Monning — Yea
Corbett — Yea
Emmerson — Yea
Correa — Yea
DeSaulnier — Yea
Yee — Yea
Hancock — Yea
Beth Gaines — Yea
Bill Berryhill — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended.

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6000
Democratic 1000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Lara — Yea
Walters — Yea
De León — Yea
Hill — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Beth Gaines — Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Passed 75 Yea · 0 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 64004
Democratic 7000
Republican 4000
Total 75004
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
How each member voted (79)
Member Party Vote
Achadjian — Yea
Alejo — Yea
Ammiano — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Blumenfield — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Brown — Yea
Buchanan — Yea
Harkey — Yea
Levine — Yea
Linder — Not Voting
Quirk — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Wagner — Yea
Weber — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Gorell — Yea
Hagman — Yea
Stone — Yea
Hall — Yea
Lowenthal — Yea
Gray — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Daly — Yea
Logue — Yea
Mansoor — Yea
Medina — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Olsen — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
John A. Pérez — Yea
Holden — Not Voting
Salas — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Campos — Yea
Melendez — Yea
Morrell — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Nestande — Yea
Pan — Yea
Perea — Yea
Bigelow — Not Voting
Chau — Yea
Chesbro — Yea
Chávez — Yea
Conway — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Donnelly — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Ting — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Williams — Yea
Dickinson — Yea
Fox — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Yamada — Yea
Gordon — Not Voting
Beth Gaines — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
V. Manuel Pérez — Yea
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Garcia, Robert Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea
Patterson, Joe Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended.

Passed 17 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 16000
Democratic 1000
Total 17000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (17)
Member Party Vote
Ammiano — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Linder — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
Hall — Yea
Harkey — Yea
Campos — Yea
Bigelow — Yea
Donnelly — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Pan — Yea
Wagner — Yea
Weber — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does AB 551 do?
(1) Existing law, the Williamson Act, 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. Existing law authorizes the parties to a Williamson Act contract to mutually agree to rescind a contract under the act in order to simultaneously enter into an open-space easement for a certain period of years. This bill would enact the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act and would authorize, under specified conditions and until January 1, 2019, a city, county, or city and county and a landowner to enter into a contract to enforceably restrict the use of vacant, unimproved, or otherwise blighted lands for small-scale production of agricultural crops and animal husbandry. The bill would require a contract entered into pursuant to these provisions to, among other things, be for a term of no less than 5 years and to enforceably restrict property that is at least 0.10 acres in size. (2) Existing law requires the county assessor to consider, when valuing real property for property taxation purposes, the effect of any enforceable restrictions to which the use of the land may be subjected. Under existing law these restrictions include, but are not limited to, zoning, recorded contracts with governmental agencies, and various other restrictions imposed by governments. This bill would require the county assessor to value property that is enforceably restricted by a contract entered into pursuant to the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act at the rate based on the average per-acre value of irrigated cropland in California, adjusted proportionally to reflect the acreage of the property under contract, as most recently published by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. The bill would also require the State Board of Equalization to post the per-acre land value as published by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the United States Department of Agriculture on its Internet Web site within 30 days of publication, and to provide the rate to county assessors no later than January 1 of each assessment year.
Who sponsors AB 551?
AB 551 is sponsored by Alejo and Ting.
What is the current status of AB 551?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 20, 2013. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 551?
Track AB 551 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on AB 551

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Stay ahead of AB 551

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →