Article
7.5. The California Winter Rice Habitat Incentive Program
3469.
(a) There is established the California Winter Rice Habitat Incentive Program subject to the requirements of this article.(b) Subject to appropriation for purposes of this article, the director may enter into contracts with nonpublic entities that are owners of record, or with lessees who have the owners of record execute the contract, of productive agricultural rice lands that are winter-flooded and that are determined by the director to be important for the conservation of waterfowl. The contract shall enforceably restrict the use of the land for the conservation of waterfowl and their habitat in a manner that allows for the use of the land for rice farming consistent with Section 8 of Article XIII of the California Constitution.
(c) The director shall give priority to contracts that have the greatest potential for restoring, enhancing, and protecting high-quality waterfowl habitat, especially that subject to destruction, drastic modification, or significant curtailment of habitat values. The director may give priority to contracts that provide additional environmental cobenefits, including cobenefits to species such as fish or snakes.
(d) (1) Before entering into a contract pursuant to this article, if the land proposed to be subject to the contract is located within five miles of a runway on a military base or international airport, the director shall consult with the applicable branch of the United States military or the operator of the international airport, as applicable.
(2) The department shall develop guidance and
protocols regarding consultation conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) that addresses, at a minimum, notification, participation, and a procedure to request the director to reconsider his or her decision to enter into a contract pursuant to this article.
(e) Contracts entered into pursuant to this article are not subject to Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.
(f) For purposes of this article, “productive agricultural rice lands that are winter-flooded” means a field that has been farmed to rice at least two of the last three growing seasons and is intentionally maintained in a flooded state for at least 70 days between October 15 and March 15, inclusive, of the following year.
3469.2.
Each contract shall be for an initial term of three years and shall include the following:(a) The designation of the owner of record and any lessee, and the legal description and the assessor’s parcel number of the land subject to the contract.
(b) An agreement by the owner and any lessee to restore, enhance, and protect the waterfowl habitat character of the described land.
(c) Specification of the amount and date in each year that the payment is to be made by the department to the owner or lessee, which shall be calculated at the rate or rates that the director determines to be fair and reasonable in consideration of the obligations
undertaken by the owner or lessee.
(d) A requirement that the owner or lessee do either of the following:
(1) Refund to the state all payments received under the contract plus interest at the legal rate, as specified in Section 3289 of the Civil Code, upon the owner’s or lessee’s violation of the contract, or any extension thereof, if the director determines that the violation warrants termination of the contract and the director terminates the contract.
(2) Make refunds or accept payment adjustments that the director determines are appropriate, not to exceed the total amount paid by the state to the owner or lessee in the preceding calendar year plus interest at the legal rate, as specified in Section 3289 of the Civil Code, if the director determines that the violation by the owner or lessee does not warrant
termination of the contract.
(e) A requirement that the department reduce the amount of any payment to the owner or lessee under subdivision (c) by an amount equal to the portion of any payment under the federal Water Bank Program (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1301 et seq.) that the department determines to be in compensation for the same obligation undertaken by the owner under the water bank program.
(f) In addition to subdivision (e), a requirement that the department reduce the amount of any payment to the owner or lessee under subdivision (c) by an amount equal to the portion of any payment that the department determines to be in compensation for the same obligation undertaken by the owner under any other governmental program.
(g) An authorization for the department to monitor compliance with the contract with the federal
Natural Resources Conservation Service, a county agricultural commissioner, or other appropriate agency, entity, or person to monitor compliance with the contract, and a requirement that the owner or lessee allow access for the monitoring.
(h) Any additional provisions that the director determines are desirable to effectuate the purposes of the program or to facilitate its administration.
3469.4.
If during the contract period the owner or lessee is divested of the use of the waterfowl habitat subject to the contract, the owner or lessee shall notify the department concurrent with that divestment. Any unearned payment shall immediately be refunded by the owner or lessee to the department.3469.6.
The director and the owner or lessee may mutually agree to modify the terms and conditions of a contract under this article as the director may determine to be desirable to carry out the purposes of, or to facilitate administration of, the program. 3469.8.
The California Winter Rice Habitat Incentive Program Account is hereby created in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. Funds deposited in the California Winter Rice Habitat Incentive Program Account shall be made available for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the department. These funds shall be expended solely for the purposes set forth in this article. An amount that equals not more than 5 percent of the funds allocated for this program may be used to pay the administrative costs of the program and up to 10 percent of funds allocated may be used for planning and monitoring necessary to ensure the success of the program.