As California water law forces more farmland out of production, a new bill would make it easier to convert it to solar fields.

Assembly Bill 1156 from Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) allows farmland under the Williamson Act to be converted to solar fields. Land can be converted back to ag use while maintaining the same tax protections.

The 1965 Williamson Act gave farmers tax breaks in exchange for promises to keep the land for agriculture.

But with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act poised to put 1 million acres of farmland out of production, many farmers in dry areas face the need to fallow their land.

“My fellow farmers throughout the Central Valley have been doing this for a long time, and we want to continue for generations to come. To make that happen, we need new tools and smart policy that recognizes the pressures we’re under,” said Paul Betancourt, partner of VF&B Farms in Kerman and past president of the Fresno County Farm Bureau.

“AB 1156 is one of those tools. It’s good for the environment by creating more clean, renewable energy. It’s good for our communities by keeping the land productive. And it’s good for our farmers by allowing us to continue doing what we do best – growing food for a hungry world.”

Local GOP Lawmakers Oppose AB 1156

The bill’s authors say AB 1156 helps California meet its goal of 100% clean energy by 2045 while preserving farmland. They say it will increase employment and provide revenues for farmers needing to fallow land because of SGMA.

The bill passed the Assembly 66-5. Among Valley lawmakers, there was a sharp partisan divide. Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare), David Tangipa (R-Clovis), and Stan Ellis (R-Bakersfield) voted against the bill. However, Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno), Esmeralda Soria (D-Merced), and Jasmeet Bains (D-Bakersfield) supported the bill.

Changing Williamson Act requires walking a fine line, said Ryan Jacobsen, president of the Fresno County Farm Bureau.

The spirit of the law wants to preserve agriculture, but at the same time, farmers face a new reality with water availability, he said.

“There is a fine line to recognize,” Jacobsen said. “We want the integrity of the Williamson Act to remain, but we also understand the struggles and hardships that farmers are going through right now.”

American Farmland Trust and the California Farm Bureau Federation oppose the bill, according to an Assembly analysis.

Kern County recently took a neutral position after opposition to the bill.

The Rural County Representatives of California reversed its opposition and supported the bill after worries the bill would bypass local control over the Williamson Act. A letter from the association states that after a May 5 revision removing power from the Energy Commission to suspend or cancel Williamson Act contracts, they supported the bill.

Western Growers Association supports it if it is amended.

Western Growers did not return a request for comment before publication.

Jacobsen said the bill needs better definitions for what insufficient water supply and commercial viability means.