Assembly Bill 34 – Authored by Rep. Andre Jacque (R – Bellevue)
Senate Bill 24 – Authored by Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center)
Status
Assembly Bill 34 has been referred to the Assembly Committee on Urban and Local Affairs on February 23, 2011.
Senate Bill 24 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Rural Issues on February 24, 2011.
This legislation failed to be enacted into law during the 2011-2012 legislative session.
Summary
Assembly Bill 34 and Senate Bill 24 eliminate the requirement that a person who requests that land be rezoned out of a farmland preservation zoning district pay a conversion fee. These bills also propose the elimination of the program for purchasing agricultural conservation easements.
Background
Current law states that, in order to rezone land out of a farmland preservation zoning district, a political subdivision must make several findings, including that the farmland is better suited for uses not allowed in a farmland preservation zoning district. The political subdivision may not rezone land out of a farmland preservation zoning district unless the person requesting the rezoning pays a conversion fee equal to the number of acres rezoned multiplied by three times the per acre value of the highest value of cropland in the city, village or town in which the land is located. This is determined by the Department of Revenue for the purposes of use value assessment.
Currently, not all counties throughout Wisconsin have completed the planning phase of the Working Lands Program. Therefore, conversion fees are unwarranted until counties have the opportunity to establish their plans in order to match the local county zoning.
The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) currently administers a program under which it partners with local governments and non-profit conservation organizations, to purchase agricultural conservation easements from willing landowners. Under this program, DATCP pays up to 50 percent of the cost of purchasing an easement and may pay up to the full amount of the related transaction costs, such as land surveys and appraisals.
An agriculture conservation easement requires that land covered by the easement be kept in agricultural use.
Position – SUPPORT