AB 2348: California Winter Rice Habitat Incentive Program.

Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife, pursuant to the California Waterfowl Habitat Program, to enter into land use contracts for an initial term of 10 years to conserve waterfowl and waterfowl habitat with nonpublic entities that are owners of record or with lessees of land determined by the director to be important for the conservation of waterfowl, subject to the appropriation of money for that purpose. Under those contracts, the use of the land is restricted for waterfowl conservation and habitat purposes and the Department of Fish and Wildlife makes payments for that restriction. Existing law requires the contract to be recorded by the county recorder, as specified, and, if the land is divested, the successor to the owner or lessee of the land is subject to the contract.

This bill would establish a similar program, to be known as the California Winter Rice Habitat Incentive Program, to authorize the director to enter into contracts for an initial term of 3 years with nonpublic entities that are owners of record or with lessees of productive agricultural rice lands that are winter-flooded and that are determined by the director to be important for the conservation of waterfowl. Under these contracts, the use of the land would be restricted for waterfowl conservation and habitat purposes in a manner that allows for the use of the land for rice farming. The bill would create the California Winter Rice Habitat Incentive Program Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund and would make funds deposited in the account available for expenditure, upon appropriation, to the department for purposes of the program. The bill would make available certain moneys appropriated in the Budget Act of 2018 for purposes of this program.