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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5345
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 1561
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING ST ATE REVIEW OF FARMLA ND
PRESERVATION TRANSAC TIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 22-26cc of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2020): 3
(a) There is established within the Department of Agriculture a 4
program to solicit, from owners of agricultural land, offers to sell the 5
development rights to such land and to inform the public of the 6
purposes, goals and provisions of this chapter. The commissioner [, with 7
the approval of the State Properties Review Board,] shall have the power 8
to acquire or accept as a gift, on behalf of the state, the development 9
rights of any agricultural land, if offered by the owner. Notice of the 10
offer shall be filed in the land records wherein the agricultural land is 11
situated. If ownership of any land for which development rights have 12
been offered is transferred, the offer shall be effective until the 13
subsequent owner revokes the offer in writing. The state conservation 14
and development plan established pursuant to section 16a-24 shall be 15 Raised Bill No. 5345
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applied as an advisory document to the acquisition of development 16
rights of any agricultural lands. The factors to be considered by the 17
commissioner in deciding whether or not to acquire such rights shall 18
include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) The probability that the 19
land will be sold for nonagricultural purposes; (2) the current 20
productivity of such land and the likelihood of continued productivity; 21
(3) the suitability of the land as to soil classification and other criteria for 22
agricultural use; (4) the degree to which such acquisition would 23
contribute to the preservation of the agricultural potential of the state; 24
(5) any encumbrances on such land; (6) the cost of acquiring such rights; 25
and (7) the degree to which such acquisition would mitigate damage 26
due to flood hazards. Ownership by a nonprofit organization 27
authorized to hold land for conservation and preservation purposes of 28
land which prior to such ownership qualified for the program 29
established pursuant to this section shall not be deemed to diminish the 30
probability that the land will be sold for nonagricultural purposes. After 31
a preliminary evaluation of such factors by the Commissioner of 32
Agriculture, he shall obtain and review one or more fee appraisals of the 33
property selected in order to determine the value of the development 34
rights of such property. The commissioner shall notify the Department 35
of Transportation, the Department of Economic and Community 36
Development, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 37
and the Office of Policy and Management that such property is being 38
appraised. Any appraisal of the value of such land obtained by the 39
owner and performed in a manner approved by the commissioner shall 40
be considered by the commissioner in making such determination. The 41
value of development rights for all purposes of this section shall be the 42
difference between the value of the property for its highest and best use 43
and its value for agricultural purposes as determined by the 44
commissioner. The use or presence of pollutants or chemicals in the soil 45
shall not be deemed to diminish the agricultural value of the land or to 46
prohibit the commissioner from acquiring the development rights to 47
such land. The commissioner may purchase development rights for a 48
lesser amount provided he complies with all factors for acquisition 49
specified in this subsection and in any implementing regulations. In 50 Raised Bill No. 5345
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determining the value of the property for its highest and best use, 51
consideration shall be given but not limited to sales of comparable 52
properties in the general area, use of which was unrestricted at the time 53
of sale. 54
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 22-26jj of the general statutes is 55
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 56
1, 2020): 57
(a) The Commissioner of Agriculture [, with the approval of the State 58
Properties Review Board,] may acquire by purchase or accept as a gift, 59
on behalf of the state, the fee simple title of any agricultural real 60
property and any personal property related to such real property, 61
including, but not limited to, machinery, equipment, fixtures and 62
livestock. The state conservation and development plan established 63
pursuant to chapter 297 shall be used as an advisory document in 64
connection with acquisition of such property. The commissioner, in 65
deciding whether or not to acquire such property, shall consider all of 66
the factors stated in section 22-26cc and shall further consider the 67
likelihood of subsequent sale of such property by the department for 68
agricultural purposes, subject to the state's retention of development 69
rights or future purchase of such development rights if such property is 70
sold to a municipality or a nonprofit organization described in 71
subsection (b) of this section. After a preliminary evaluation of such 72
factors, the Commissioner of Agriculture shall obtain and review one or 73
more fee appraisals of the property in order to determine the value of 74
such property. Each such appraisal shall include an itemization of (1) 75
the total value of the land, (2) the value of the land as agricultural land, 76
(3) the value of the development rights of the land, and (4) the value of 77
any related personal property proposed to be included in any sale. The 78
commissioner shall give notice of any such appraisal to the Departments 79
of Transportation, Economic and Community Development and Energy 80
and Environmental Protection and the Office of Policy and 81
Management. Any such appraisal may be obtained by the owner of the 82
property and, if performed in a manner approved by the commissioner, 83
shall be considered by the commissioner in making such determination. 84 Raised Bill No. 5345
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The commissioner may purchase such property for a lesser price than 85
any price suggested by any such appraisal provided all considerations 86
for acquisition specified in this subsection are taken into account. In 87
determining the value of the property, consideration shall be given to 88
sales of comparable properties in the general vicinity. 89
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2020 22-26cc(a)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2020 22-26jj(a)
Statement of Purpose:
To eliminate the State Property Review Board's review of Farmland
Preservation Program transactions in order to expedite their occurrence.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]