SB 841

This bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to award grants to cities, villages, towns, counties, regional planning commissions, and tribal governments for various purposes related to implementing a county’s certified farmland preservation plan. Under the bill, DATCP must enter into a contract with a grant recipient before distributing grant funds, and the contract must identify costs eligible for reimbursement through the grant for the following activities: 1) certifying a farmland preservation zoning ordinance for the first time; 2) enrolling land in farmland preservation agreements; 3) designating an agricultural enterprise area or facilitating agricultural preservation and development; 4) monitoring compliance with land and water conservation standards; and 5) farmland preservation program outreach.

Under current law, DATCP may designate agricultural enterprise areas targeted for agricultural preservation and development. Current law authorizes DATCP to designate agricultural enterprise areas in the state with a combined area of not more than 2,000,000 acres.

The bill increases this authorization to a combined area of not more than 3,000,000 acres.

The bill also indexes for inflation the dollar amounts used to calculate the farmland preservation income tax credit. Under current law, claimants may claim a farmland preservation income tax credit for qualifying acres of farmland at a rate of $10 or $12.50 per qualifying acre, depending on certain factors.