Assembly panel advances bill to allow suspension of Williamson Act contracts for solar on water-constrained farmland

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks on behalf of AB 1156 told the Assembly Agriculture subcommittee that the bill would update California’s solar use easement statute to permit landowners on agriculturally constrained, water-limited parcels to suspend Williamson Act contracts and place renewable energy projects on those parcels for the life of a solar easement.

Why it matters: Wicks and supporters said the proposal aims to create an option for landowners who can no longer irrigate so the land can produce local revenue and local tax receipts while preserving the option to return the land to agriculture if water conditions improve. Opposition warned the bill could open a loophole that lets solar development leave productive farmland permanently unprotected without repaying the public investment that conservation programs require.

AB 1156’s changes and goals

Wicks said AB 1156 would modernize eligibility criteria and easement terms for the state’s solar use easement program, which she called “not working” — noting state data presented to the committee showing only three projects permitted under the current program since 2011. She described the proposal as allowing an owner…