Abstract
Statement of Problem
The Williamson Act was designed by the California State Legislature in 1965 to protect agricultural land from premature development. Landowners contract with counties that participate in Williamson Act contracts. These contracts state that the landowner will not develop contracted land for 10 years, and in exchange their property taxes will be assessed based on use, not on value. The Williamson Act is a popular policy throughout California, as most counties throughout the State currently offer contracts to land owners. The State of California gives subvention payments back to participating counties to recoup a portion of the property taxes they would normally receive without Williamson Act contracts.
Sources of Data
For this thesis, I examined the implementation and effectiveness of the Williamson Act in Tehama County through a three-part study, analyzing statistical data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and data on the Williamson Act from the California Department of Conservation. Second, I analyzed maps of Tehama County agricultural land from the Department of Conservation released every two years starting in 1984. Finally, this case study conducted interviews included the local planning director, county assessor, the individual in the assessor's office who administers the Williamson Act, and an individual with orchard land in Williamson Act contracts, as well as an individual with rangeland in Williamson Act contracts.
Conclusions
The Williamson Act appears to be effective in Tehama County, and I speculate it is probably equally effective in other rural areas with limited development pressure. I am unsure if these conclusions would apply equally throughout California, especially in areas with significant development pressure. The subvention payments counties receive to help supplement property tax revenue they would normally receive without the Williamson Act are the primary reason counties are able to afford to continue the program. If the State of California decides to cancel these subvention payments I expect participating counties would non-renew all contracts.