CCA: Speak out on Williamson Act

From the California Cattlemen's Association:

Last Friday, both Assembly and Senate Budget Committees voted to overturn the recommendations of their budget subcommittees and approve the Governor’s budget proposal to delete the $10 million state General Fund appropriation and repeal the local option adopted last year in Senate Bill 863 whereby counties could receive additional revenue from a 10 percent reduction in the Williamson Act landowner’s contract benefit.

CCA is requesting that legislators revisit this decision. While deletion of the funding would result in a general fund savings for the current year, rolling back SB 863 provides no general fund savings and hinders the ability of many counties to continue to provide 90 percent of current Williamson Act savings to contracting landowners. Thus far, eight counties that participate in the Williamson Act have implemented this program and it is estimated that another eight to 12 counties are considering implementation this year.

The repeal of the SB 863 program undermines the eight participating counties (Tulare, Kings, Merced, Madera, Mendocino, Stanislaus, Yolo and Shasta) and prevents others from considering its use. The ultimate result would very likely be mass county nonrenewals this fall.

If you have not already done so, please write your Williamson Act letter today and submit it to CCA to deliver to lawmakers on your behalf. You may fax letters to (916) 444-2194 or e-mail them to Dawn Clover at dawn@calcattlemen.org. A sample letter can be found on CCA’s Web site by clicking here.