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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
RESEARCH STAFF
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ETHAN SHANER ASSISTANT
LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH
ANALYST NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE Telephone: (602) 542-3171 Facsimile: (602) 542-7833 |
NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE
AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
DATE: April 11, 2001
SUBJECT: Proposed Strike
Everything Amendment to H.B. 2030
Purpose:
Establishes the Arizona Agricultural Heritage Commission and the Arizona agricultural heritage fund for the purpose making grants and establishing guidelines for the purchase of agricultural easements.
Background:
An agricultural easement is a legal document that contains restrictions on the use or development of land for the specific purpose of preserving open space for farming or ranching operations. The easement is entered into by a landowner and a land trust or governmental entity, which purchases or leases the development rights from the landowner. The landowner retains the ownership of the land and the right to use the land in a manner consistent with the terms of the easement.
In 2000, a similar program was established with the development rights retirement fund in the Growing Smarter Plus legislation. The fund is administered by the State Parks Board and monies in the fund are to be used for the purpose of granting monies to applicants to purchase, lease or transfer the development rights of private land in Arizona. The fund consists of legislative appropriations, gifts and grants. However, to date there have been no monies deposited into the fund and consequently, the grant program has not been utilized.
The strike-everything amendment to H.B. 2030 establishes the Arizona Agricultural Heritage Commission to administer a program for acquiring agricultural easements using grants from the Arizona agricultural heritage fund. According to The Nature Conservancy, the program is modeled after a statute enacted in Montana in 1999 that has experienced success preserving agricultural lands.
There is no anticipated impact to the state general fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions:
Arizona Agricultural Heritage Commission – Membership
1. Creates a 15-member Arizona Agricultural Heritage Commission to award grants to state agencies, political subdivisions and nonprofit conservation groups for the purpose of agricultural easements.
2. Designates the membership of the Commission and establishes qualifications for Commission members.
3. Provides for staggered three-year terms for the members of the Commission, but allows a member to continue to serve until a successor is appointed and assumes office.
4. Stipulates that members of the Commission are eligible to receive compensation not exceeding $30 for each day of service as well as reimbursement for travel and expenses.
Arizona Agricultural Heritage Commission – Powers and Duties
5. States that the purpose of the Commission is to promote the use of agricultural easements to conserve agricultural land as open space and habitat for native species in this state.
6. Requires that the Commission administer the Arizona agricultural heritage fund.
7. Requires the Commission to coordinate its staffing needs with the State Land Commissioner and the State Parks Board.
8. Requires the Commission to provide for annual monitoring of easements including a written report of compliance.
9. Requires the Commission to provide for public involvement regarding applications for grants, including notification to any person who requests notice of grant applications and a reasonable opportunity for comment on the grant applications. Requires the Commission to consider all written and oral comments.
10. Requires the Commission to ensure that the easement prohibits activities inconsistent with the preservation of open space.
11. Allows the Commission to contract with any person for the expenditure of monies.
12. Requires the Commission to submit an annual report of its activities to the Legislature, the Governor and other named entities and any member of the public who requests a copy.
13. Prohibits the Commission from purchasing or condemning real property using monies from the Arizona agricultural heritage fund.
Arizona Agricultural Heritage Fund
14. Establishes the Arizona agricultural heritage fund consisting of gifts, grants and donations and stipulates that monies in the fund are continuously appropriated. Exempts monies in the fund from lapsing.
15. Stipulates that monies in the fund may be used for purchasing agricultural easements and for transaction, administration and monitoring and enforcing costs borne by the easement holder.
16. Requires that agricultural easements purchased by the Commission be acquired in perpetuity or for a renewable term of at least 25 years.
17. Exempts fund expenditures made by the commission from the procurement code.
Grant Process
18. Requires the Commission to establish a procedure for receiving applications and granting monies from the fund and requires that it be no longer than six months between receipt of the application and approval or denial of the grant.
19. Specifies information that an applicant must submit to the Commission as a part of the grant application.
20. Requires the Commission to establish criteria and policies for granting monies and specifies factors that the Commission must consider.
21. Requires the Commission to give priority to applications for which matching monies or assets of comparable value will be provided by other sources.
Miscellaneous
22. Defines agricultural easement.
23. Stipulates that permissible activities on land subject to an agricultural easement must be negotiated on a case-by-case basis but must be consistent with conservation of farm or ranch land and local production of food and fiber, open space in urban areas, wildlife habitats or large tracts of undeveloped land at risk of division.
24. Allows the easement holder and landowner to negotiate and include payment and contract options and the retention of limited residential development rights in the easement. Any retention of limited residential development rights by the landowner shall not exceed 10 percent of the land subject to the easement.
25. Terminates the Commission on July 1, 2011.
26. Provides for a general effective date.
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