BILL NUMBER: AB 2255	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Aghazarian

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2008

   An act to amend Section 5096.520 of the Public Resources Code,
relating to resource conservation.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2255, as introduced, Aghazarian. Conservation easement
registry.
   Existing law requires the Secretary of the Resources Agency to
establish a central public registry of all conservation easements
held or required by the state, or purchased with state grant funds
provided by an agency, department, or division of the state on or
after January 1, 2000. Existing law specifies the information that is
required to be included in the registry, and limits the information
that the secretary is required to post on the Internet.
   This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change in those
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 5096.520 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:
   5096.520.  (a) The Secretary of the Resources Agency shall
establish a central public registry of all conservation easements
held or required by the state, or purchased with state grant funds
provided by an agency, department, or division of the state on or
after January 1, 2000. In constructing the registry, the Resources
Agency shall draw upon the Department of General Services' property
inventory, and other information held by a state agency, department,
division, or other sources.
   (b) For the purposes of this section, "conservation easement"
means any limitation in a recorded instrument that contains an
easement, restriction, covenant, condition, or offer to dedicate,
that has been executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land
subject to that limitation and is binding upon successive owners of
the land, and the purpose of which is to retain land predominantly in
its natural, scenic, historical, agricultural, forested, or
open-space condition. "Conservation easement" includes a conservation
easement as defined in Section 815.1 of the Civil Code, an
open-space easement as defined in Section 51075 of the Government
Code, and an agricultural conservation easement as defined in Section
10211.
   (c) The registry shall only include the following information on
each conservation easement listed in the registry:
   (1) The assessor's parcel numbers for the property covered by the
easement.
   (2) The purpose of the easement.
   (3) The location of the easement, identified by county and nearest
city.
   (4) The identity of the  easementholder  
easement holder  .
   (5) The size of the easement in acres.
   (6) The date the easement transaction was recorded.
   (7) The amount of funding provided by the agency, department, or
division of the state holding or requiring the easement or providing
state grant funds for the easement.
   (d) An agency, department, or division of the state with
conservation easements that are held or required by the state or
purchased with state grant funds shall enter and keep current the
information specified in subdivision (c) for those easements in the
registry established pursuant to this section.
   (e) On or before January 1, 2009, the Secretary of the Resources
Agency shall make the registry available for use by the general
public. Only the information pertaining to paragraphs (2) to (6),
inclusive, of subdivision (c) regarding conservation easements held
or required by the state, or purchased with state grant funds
provided by an agency, department, or division of the state on or
after January 1, 2006, shall be provided by the Secretary of the
Resources Agency on the Internet. Personal identifying information
shall not be posted on the Internet. The registry shall be updated
biennially.