Legislative wins: Conservation funding, easement protection
Wednesday, August 19, 2009

CTNC's report card from the 2009 General Assembly

A turbulent session for the N.C. General Assembly saw gains and losses for land and water protection, with lower funding for the state’s conservation trust funds but stronger policy protection for natural areas.

The new state budget includes $50 million per year over the next two years for the Clean Water Management Trust Fund - a drop of 50 percent over past allocations, but welcome in a difficult economy. The Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund will get $2 million for one year, while revenue streams that support the Parks and Recreation and Natural Heritage trust funds were protected.

The budget, approved by lawmakers on Aug. 5 and signed by Gov. Bev Perdue on Aug. 10, also maintains the NC Conservation Tax Credit, despite some proposals to eliminate it. And it maintains the availability of $40 million in debt financing for conservation held over from FY ’08.

While funding for land and water protection took a significant hit, the conservation community appreciates this level of support for the trust funds given the state's significant budgetary shortfalls.

On the policy side, the Legislature approved a new law to strengthen protection of conservation easements from condemnation for public works projects. The new law - championed by Rep. Ruth Samuelson and Sen. Dan Clodfelter - doesn’t stop such condemnation, but sets a higher standard for public agencies to prove the need to condemn conserved land. The standard will strike an appropriate balance between the state's need to condemn land for public infrastructure and its investment in conservation land for future public benefit.

Upon its effective date of Oct. 1, the law will require public condemnors to:

• Prove that no prudent and feasible alternative exists to the condemnation of the land under easement.
• Pay just compensation at fair market value for condemned conservation land, as if the land was not encumbered by the easement. 

Lawmakers also passed two bills that will help co-owners hold onto family land when some relatives want to sell and others don’t. The measures, which affect a type of property transaction called a partition sale, are meant to make the process fairer for all parties involved. The issue is of interest to the land trust community in cases where some co-owners want to conserve property and others prefer to sell it for development or other purposes.

Visit our Policy Priorities page to download detailed information on the outcome of conservation-related bills filed during the 2009 session. And be sure to sign up for Action Alerts to be a part of our efforts to promote land and water protection at the General Assembly.

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina and Land for Tomorrow would like to thank everyone who contacted their legislators in support of funding and laws that aid our efforts to save the places you love. Our success would be impossible without you.