Chapter
030
2008 -- H 7487
Enacted 06/12/08
A N A C T
RELATING TO STATE
AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT
Introduced By: Representatives DeSimone, and Petrarca
Date
Introduced: February 13, 2008
It is enacted
by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 42-82-3 and 42-82-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-82
entitled
"Farmland Preservation Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:
42-82-3.
Agricultural lands preservation commission. -- (a) (1) There is
established
the
agricultural lands preservation commission consisting of the directors of the
department of
environmental
management and the department of administration, or their respective designees,
both ex
officio with the power to vote; one member to be the executive director of
the Rhode
Island
League of Cities and Towns or his or her designee, who shall serve as a
nonvoting member
of
the commission; and four (4) and
seven (7) public members to be appointed by the governor
with the
advice and consent of the senate. The public appointees shall include at
least two (2)
members
with knowledge or experience in agriculture, one member familiar with land use
and
community
planning issues, one member active in land preservation. The dean of the College of
Resource
Development of the University of Rhode Island and the state conservationist of
the
United
States Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service, or their
respective
designees,
shall also serve on the committee and shall be nonvoting members. All gubernatorial
appointments
made under this section after January 1, 2005 shall be subjected to the advice
and
consent
of the senate. No person shall be eligible for appointment pursuant to this
section after
the
effective date of this act [April 20, 2006] unless he or she is a resident of
this state.
(2) The members appointed by the governor shall serve for terms of five (5)
years each;
provided,
however, that of the members first appointed, one shall serve for one year, one
shall
serve
for two (2) years, one shall serve for three (3) years, one shall serve for
four (4) years, and
two (2)
shall serve for five (5) years, from January first next succeeding their
appointment, as the
governor
shall designate; provided, however, that those members of the commission as of
the
effective
date of this act [April 20, 2006] who were appointed upon the recommendation of
members
of the general assembly shall cease to be members of the commission on the
effective
date of
this act [April 20, 2006].
(3) Any vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled
in the
same
manner as the original appointment.
(4) Upon expiration of a member's term, that member shall continue as a member
until
that
member's successor is appointed and qualified. Any person serving a term shall
be eligible
for
appointment.
(5) No member, including ex-officio members, shall receive compensation for the
performance
of his or her duties as a member; provided, however, that each appointed member
may be
reimbursed if funds are appropriated for his or her actual and necessary
expenses incurred
during
the performance of his or her official duties.
(6) [Deleted by P.L. 2006, ch. 22, section 5 and P.L. 2006, ch. 27, section 5].
(7) The commission shall designate annually from its appointed members a
chairperson
and a
vice chairperson.
(8) Whenever public hearings are required under this chapter, or whenever the
commission
determines a public hearing is appropriate, the commission shall use reasonable
efforts
to hold those hearings at a place or places that will reasonably accommodate
the interested
parties.
(b) Four (4) Five (5) voting members of the commission shall
constitute a quorum for the
transaction
of any business or the exercise of any power of the commission. Except as
otherwise
provided
in this chapter, the commission shall have the power to act by a majority of
the members
present at
any meeting at which a quorum is in attendance.
(c) The governor may remove any member for cause or misconduct in office after
giving
him or
her a copy of the charges against him or her and an opportunity to be heard, in
person or
by
counsel, in his or her defense, upon not less than ten (10) days notice. If any
member shall be
removed,
the governor shall file in the office of the secretary of state a complete
statement of
charges
made against the member and his or her findings, together with a complete
record of the
proceedings.
42-82-5.
Duties of the commission. -- (a) The commission shall:
(1) Develop the criteria necessary for defining agricultural land under this
chapter;
(2) Make a reasonably accurate inventory of all land in the state, which meets
the
definition
of agricultural land;
(3) Prepare and adopt rules for administration of the purchase of development
rights and
criteria
for the selection of parcels for which the development rights may be purchased,
and the
conditions
under which they will be purchased;
(4) Draw up and publish the covenant and enumerate the specific development
rights to
be
purchased by the state;
(5) Inform the owners, public officials and other citizens and interested persons
of the
provisions
of this chapter; and
(6) Approve and submit within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal
year, an
annual
report to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the
president of the
senate,
and the secretary of state of its activities during that fiscal year. The
report shall provide:
an
operating statement summarizing meetings or hearings held, including meeting
minutes,
subjects
addressed, decisions rendered, petitions granted, rules or regulations promulgated,
studies
conducted, policies and plans developed, approved, or modified, and programs
administered
or initiated; a consolidated financial statement of all funds received and
expended
including
the source of the funds, a listing of any staff supported by these funds, and a
summary
of any
clerical, administrative or technical support received; a summary of
performance during
the
previous fiscal year including accomplishments, shortcomings and remedies; a
synopsis of
hearings,
examinations and investigations or any legal matters related to the authority
of the
commission;
a summary of any training courses held pursuant to subsection 42-82-5(a)(7); a
summary
of land acquired and conserved during the fiscal year; an annually updated
inventory of
all land
in the state which meets the definition of agricultural land; a briefing on
anticipated
activities
in the upcoming fiscal year; findings and recommendation for improvements. The
report
shall be posted electronically as prescribed in section 42-20-8.2. The director
of the
department
of administration shall be responsible for the enforcement of this provision;
and
(7) Conduct a training course for newly appointed and qualified members and new
designees
of ex officio members within six (6) months of their qualification or
designation. The
course
shall be developed by the chair, approved by the commission and conducted by
the
commission.
The commission may approve the use of any commission or staff members or other
individuals
to assist with training. The course shall include instruction in the following
areas; the
provisions
of chapters 42-82, 42-46, 36-14, and 38-2; and the commission's rules and
regulations.
The
director of the department of administration shall, within ninety (90) days of
the effective
date of
this act [May 3, 2006] prepare and disseminate training materials relating to
the provisions
of
chapters 42-46, 36-14 and 38-2.
(b) At any time after fulfilling the requirements of subsection (a), the commission,
on
behalf
of the state, may acquire any development rights that may from time to time be
offered by
the
owners of agricultural land. The commission may accept or negotiate at a price
not in excess
of the
average of two (2) independent appraisals the value established by an
independent
appraisal
prepared for the commission, or for one of the commission’s partners, for the respective
property.
Additionally, said appraisal shall be reviewed in a manner consistent with
the rules and
regulations
of the commission. The value of the
development rights for all of the purposes of this
section
shall be the difference between the value of the property for its highest and
best use and
its
value for agricultural purposes as defined in this chapter. In determining the
value of the
property
for its highest and best use, consideration shall be given to sales of
comparable
properties
in the general area, use of which is unrestricted at the time of sale. The
seller of the
development
rights shall have the option of accepting payment in full at the time of
transfer or
accepting
payment on an installment basis in cash or with the principal paid by tax
exempt
financial
instruments of the state with interest on the unpaid balance equal to the
interest paid by
the
state on bonds sold during the preceding twelve (12) month period. Any matter
pending in the
superior
court may be settled by the parties subject to approval by a referee. At any
time after a
matter
has been referred to a referee, even after an award is made by the referee, but
before
payment
thereof, the petitioner may withdraw his or her petition upon payment of
appraisal fees
incurred
by the state together with all court costs, and the award shall become null and
void.
(c) Any land received as a gift may be resold by the commission with the
development
rights
retained by the state and so noted by covenant in the deed. The proceeds from
that sale
shall be
returned to the agricultural land preservation fund.
(d) Any land received as a gift and not resold by the commission may be leased
for
agricultural
uses or other uses the commission determines are not detrimental to its
agricultural
productivity.
Any funds thus obtained shall be returned to the agricultural land preservation
fund.
(e) The commission may consider petitions by the owner of land from which the
state
has
purchased the development rights to repurchase those development rights from
the state. The
petition
must be accompanied by a certificate from the municipalities in which the land
lies
stating
that two-thirds ( 2/3) of the city or town council has approved the proposed
development.
The
petition shall set forth the facts and circumstances upon which the commission
shall consider
approval,
and the commission shall deny approval unless at least seven (7) of its members
determine
by vote that there is an overriding necessity to relinquish control of the
development
rights.
The commission shall hold at least one public hearing in a city or town from
which a
certificate
has been received, prior to its consideration of the petition, which shall be
announced
in one
newspaper of local circulation. The expenses, if any, of the hearing shall be
borne by the
petitioner.
If the commission approves the sale of the development rights, it shall receive
the
value of
the development rights at the time of this sale, to be determined in the same
manner as
provided
for by subsection (d). Proceeds of the sale shall be returned to the
agricultural land
preservation
fund.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01233
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