Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Enrolled Copy                                                                       H.B. 371
                WORKING FARM AND RANCH PROTECTION FUND
                                     2023 GENERAL SESSION
                                         STATE OF UTAH
                                Chief Sponsor: Casey Snider
                               Senate Sponsor: Scott D. Sandall
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 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
        This bill modifies provisions related to the management, regulation, conservation, and
 use of natural resources.
 Highlighted Provisions:
        This bill:
        < defines terms;
        < renames the LeRay McAllister Critical Land Conservation Program;
        < establishes the LeRay McAllister Working Farm and Ranch Fund;
        < addresses county use of rollback taxes; and
        < addresses county use of rollback tax funds.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
        None
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
 AMENDS:
        4-46-102, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 68
        4-46-202, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 68
        4-46-301, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 68
        4-46-302, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 68
        4-46-303, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 68
        39A-8-104, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 373
       H.B. 371                                                                      Enrolled Copy
        59-2-506, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 319
        59-2-511, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2007, Chapter 329
        59-2-1705, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 319
        59-2-1710, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 197
        63J-1-602.2, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 59, 68, 154, 224, 236,
 242, and 447 and last amended by Coordination Clause, Laws of Utah 2022,
 Chapter 154
 ENACTS:
        17-41-601, Utah Code Annotated 1953
        17-41-602, Utah Code Annotated 1953
40
 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 4-46-102 is amended to read:
        4-46-102. Definitions.
        As used in this chapter:
        (1) "Agricultural land" [has the same meaning as] means "land in agricultural use,"
 [under] as defined in Section 59-2-502.
        (2) "Board" means the Land Conservation Board established in Section 4-46-201.
        (3) "Conservation commission" means the Conservation Commission created in
 Section 4-18-104.
        (4) "Conservation district" means a limited purpose local government entity created
 under Title 17D, Chapter 3, Conservation District Act.
        (5) "Director" means the director of the Division of Conservation.
        (6) "Division" means the Division of Conservation created in Section 4-46-401.
        (7) "Fund" means the LeRay McAllister Working Farm and Ranch Fund created in
 Section 4-46-301.
        [(7)] (8) "Land use authority" means:
        (a) a land use authority, as defined in Section 10-9a-103, of a municipality; or
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       Enrolled Copy                                                                              H.B. 371
         (b) a land use authority, as defined in Section 17-27a-103, of a county.
         [(8)] (9) "Local entity" means a county, city, or town.
         [(9)] (10) (a) "Open land" means land that is:
         (i) preserved in or restored to a predominantly natural, open, and undeveloped
 condition; and
         (ii) used for:
         (A) wildlife habitat;
         (B) cultural or recreational use;
         (C) watershed protection; or
         (D) another use consistent with the preservation of the land in, or restoration of the
 land to, a predominantly natural, open, and undeveloped condition.
         [(b) (i) "Open land" does not include land whose predominant use is as a developed
 facility for active recreational activities, including baseball, tennis, soccer, golf, or other
 sporting or similar activity.]
         [(ii)] (b) [The condition of land does not change from a natural, open, and undeveloped
 condition because of the development or presence on the land of] "Open land" includes land
 described in Subsection (10)(a) that contains facilities, including trails, waterways, and grassy
 areas, that:
         [(A)] (i) enhance the natural, scenic, or aesthetic qualities of the land; or
         [(B)] (ii) facilitate the public's access to or use of the land for the enjoyment of the
 land's natural, scenic, or aesthetic qualities and for compatible recreational activities.
         (c) "Open land" does not include land whose predominant use is as a developed facility
 for active recreational activities, including baseball, tennis, soccer, golf, or other sporting or
 similar activities.
         [(10) "Program" means the LeRay McAllister Critical Land Conservation Program
 established in Section 4-46-301.]
         (11) (a) "State conservation efforts" includes:
         (i) efforts to optimize and preserve the uses of land for the benefit of the state's
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        H.B. 371                                                                         Enrolled Copy
 agricultural industry and natural resources; and
        (ii) conservation of working landscapes that if conserved, preserves the state's
 agricultural industry and natural resources, such as working agricultural land.
        (b) "State conservation efforts" does not include the purpose of opening private
 property to public access without the consent of the owner of the private property.
        (12) (a) "Working agricultural land" means agricultural land for which an owner or
 producer engages in the activity of producing for commercial purposes crops, orchards,
 livestock, poultry, aquaculture, livestock products, or poultry products and the facilities,
 equipment, and property used to facilitate the activity.
        (b) "Working agricultural land" includes an agricultural protection area established
 under Title 17, Chapter 41, Agriculture, Industrial, or Critical Infrastructure Materials
 Protection Areas.
        Section 2. Section 4-46-202 is amended to read:
        4-46-202. Board duties and powers -- No regulatory authority -- Criteria.
        (1) The board shall:
        (a) administer the [program] fund as provided in this chapter; and
        (b) fulfill other responsibilities imposed on the board by the Legislature.
        (2) The board may not exercise any regulatory authority.
        (3) In carrying out the board's powers and duties under this chapter, the board shall
 adopt ranking criteria that is substantially similar to the ranking criteria used by the Agriculture
 Conservation Easement Program and Agriculture Land Easement as determined by the Natural
 Resources Conservation Service under the United States Department of Agriculture.
        Section 3. Section 4-46-301 is amended to read:
                      Part 3. LeRay McAllister Working Farm and Ranch Fund
        4-46-301. LeRay McAllister Working Farm and Ranch Fund.
        (1) There is created a [program] restricted account within the General Fund entitled the
 "[LeRay McAllister Critical Land Conservation Program] LeRay McAllister Working Farm
 and Ranch Fund."
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                          H.B. 371
         (2) [Funding for the program shall be a line item in the budget of the board. The line
 item shall be nonlapsing.] The restricted account shall consist of:
         (a) appropriations by the Legislature;
         (b) grants from federal or private sources; and
         (c) interest and earnings from the account.
         (3) The Land Conservation Board created in Section 4-46-201 may use appropriations
 from the fund in accordance with Section 4-46-302.
         Section 4. Section 4-46-302 is amended to read:
         4-46-302. Use of money in fund -- Criteria -- Administration.
         (1) Subject to Subsection (2), the board may authorize the use of money in the
 [program] fund, by grant, to:
         (a) a local entity;
         (b) the Department of Natural Resources created under Section 79-2-201;
         (c) an entity within the department; or
         (d) a charitable organization that qualifies as being tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3),
 Internal Revenue Code.
         (2) (a) The money in the [program] fund shall be used for preserving or restoring open
 land and agricultural land.
         (b) [(i)] Except as provided in Subsection [(2)(b)(ii)] (2)(c), money from the [program]
 fund:
         (i) may be used to:
         (A) establish a conservation easement under Title 57, Chapter 18, Land Conservation
 Easement Act; or
         (B) fund similar methods to preserve open land or agricultural land; and
         (ii) may not be used to:
         (A) purchase a fee interest in real property to preserve open land or agricultural land[,
 but may be used to establish a conservation easement under Title 57, Chapter 18, Land
 Conservation Easement Act, or to fund similar methods to preserve open land or agricultural
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        H.B. 371                                                                        Enrolled Copy
 land.]; or
         (B) purchase additional property for the purpose of tax deferral.
         [(ii)] (c) [Notwithstanding Subsection (2)(b)(i), money] Money from the [program]
 fund may be used to purchase a fee interest in real property to preserve open land or
 agricultural land if:
         [(A)] (i) the [parcel] property to be purchased is no more than 20 acres in size; and
         [(B)] (ii) with respect to a parcel purchased in a county in which over 50% of the land
 area is publicly owned, real property roughly equivalent in size and located within that county
 is contemporaneously transferred to private ownership from the governmental entity that
 purchased the fee interest in real property.
         [(iii)] (d) Eminent domain may not be used or threatened in connection with any
 purchase using money from the [program] fund.
         [(iv)] (e) A parcel of land larger than 20 acres in size may not be divided [into separate
 parcels smaller than 20 acres each to meet the requirement of] to create one or more parcels
 that are smaller than 20 acres in order to comply with Subsection [(2)(b)(ii)] (2)(c)(i).
         [(c)] (f) A local entity, department, or organization under Subsection (1) may not
 receive money from the [program] fund unless the local entity, department, or organization
 provides matching funds equal to or greater than the amount of money received from the
 [program] fund.
         [(d)] (g) In granting money from the [program] fund, the board may impose conditions
 on the recipient as to how the money is to be spent.
         [(e)] (h) The board shall give priority to:
         (i) working agricultural land; and
         (ii) after giving priority to working agricultural land under Subsection [(2)(e)(i)]
 (2)(h)(i), requests from the Department of Natural Resources for up to 20% of each annual
 increase in the amount of money in the [program] fund if the money is used for the protection
 of wildlife or watershed.
         [(f)] (i) (i) The board may not make a grant from the [program] fund that exceeds
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                               H.B. 371
 $1,000,000 until after making a report to the Legislative Management Committee about the
 grant.
          (ii) The Legislative Management Committee may make a recommendation to the board
 concerning the intended grant, but the recommendation is not binding on the board.
          (3) In determining the amount and type of financial assistance to provide a local entity,
 department, or organization under Subsection (1) and subject to Subsection [(2)(f)] (2)(i), the
 board shall consider:
          (a) the nature and amount of open land and agricultural land proposed to be preserved
 or restored;
          (b) the qualities of the open land and agricultural land proposed to be preserved or
 restored;
          (c) the cost effectiveness of the project to preserve or restore open land or agricultural
 land;
          (d) the funds available;
          (e) the number of actual and potential applications for financial assistance and the
 amount of money sought by those applications;
          (f) the open land preservation plan of the local entity where the project is located and
 the priority placed on the project by that local entity;
          (g) the effects on housing affordability and diversity; and
          (h) whether the project protects against the loss of private property ownership.
          (4) If a local entity, department, or organization under Subsection (1) seeks money
 from the [program] fund for a project whose purpose is to protect critical watershed, the board
 shall require that the needs and quality of that project be verified by the state engineer.
          (5) An interest in real property purchased with money from the [program] fund shall be
 held and administered by the state or a local entity.
          (6) (a) The board may not authorize the use of money under this section for a project
 unless the land use authority for the land in which the project is located consents to the project.
          (b) To obtain consent to a project, the person who is seeking money from the
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        H.B. 371                                                                        Enrolled Copy
 [program] fund shall submit a request for consent to a project with the applicable land use
 authority. The land use authority may grant or deny consent. If the land use authority does not
 take action within 60 days from the day on which the request for consent is filed with the land
 use authority under this Subsection (6), the board shall treat the project as having the consent of
 the land use authority.
        (c) An action of a land use authority under this Subsection (6) is not a land use decision
 subject to:
        (i) Title 10, Chapter 9a, Municipal Land Use, Development, and Management Act; or
        (ii) Title 17, Chapter 27a, County Land Use, Development, and Management Act.
        Section 5. Section 4-46-303 is amended to read:
        4-46-303. Board to report annually.
        The board shall submit an annual report to the Infrastructure and General Government
 and Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality Appropriations
 Subcommittees:
        (1) specifying the amount of each disbursement from the [program] fund;
        (2) identifying the recipient of each disbursement and describing the project for which
 money was disbursed; and
        (3) detailing the conditions, if any, placed by the board on disbursements from the
 [program] fund.
        Section 6. Section 17-41-601 is enacted to read:
                       Part 6. Open Land and Working Agricultural Land Use
        17-41-601. Definitions.
        As used in this part:
        (1) "Agricultural land" means "land in agricultural use," as defined in Section
 59-2-502.
        (2) (a) "Open land" means land that is:
        (i) preserved in or restored to a predominantly natural, open, and undeveloped
 condition; and
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                               H.B. 371
          (ii) used for:
          (A) wildlife habitat;
          (B) cultural or recreational use;
          (C) watershed protection; or
          (D) another use consistent with the preservation of the land in, or restoration of the
 land to, a predominantly natural, open, and undeveloped condition.
          (b) "Open land" includes land described in Subsection (2)(a) that contains facilities,
 including trails, waterways, and grassy areas, that, in the judgment of the county legislative
 body:
          (i) enhance the natural, scenic, or aesthetic qualities of the land; or
          (ii) facilitate the public's access to, or use of, the land for the enjoyment of the land's
 natural, scenic, or aesthetic qualities and for compatible recreational activities.
          (c) "Open land" does not include land whose predominant use is as a developed facility
 for active recreational activities played on fields or courses, including baseball, tennis, soccer,
 golf, or other sporting or similar activities.
          (3) "Public land county" means a county in which over 50% of the land area is publicly
 owned.
          (4) "Rollback tax funds" means the rollback taxes paid to a county in accordance with
 Sections 59-2-506, 59-2-511, 59-2-1705, and 59-2-1710.
          Section 7. Section 17-41-602 is enacted to read:
          17-41-602. Use of money -- Criteria -- Administration.