On behalf of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, we write in strong support of Assembly Bill 1773. By appropriating an additional $40,000,000 from the General Fund to make subvention payments to counties, this bill would further preserve agricultural land and maintain the local agricultural economy protected by the Williamson Act.
The state ended subvention payments to counties in 2010, and although it was expected that participating jurisdictions would reduce or eliminate the Williamson Act program without state financial support, this proved to be largely unfounded. The state's role has now shifted from an audit and oversight function to one that supports strong local implementation of the Williamson Act.
It has never been more important to protect our nation's food supply, and the wealth of resources that agricultural land produces for our county, nation, and world. With the focus on air quality, it is of note that research shows that an acre of urban land emits 70 times as much greenhouse gasses as an acre of irrigated cropland. The preservation of our agricultural lands decreases the cost of community services and vehicle miles traveled while providing wildlife habitat contributing to biological diversity.
With consistent support, enrolled lands could be better used by statewide agencies in their land use planning to meet conservation, biodiversity, and climate goals.
For these reasons, among others, our organization strongly supports AB 1773.
Respectfully,
Eddie Valero, Chair
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
Dennis Townsend, Vice Chair
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
Larry Micari, District 1
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
Pete Vander Poel, District 2
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
Amy Shuklian, District 3
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
cc: Assembly Member Patterson, Tulare Delegation, Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange