Natural resources; provides annual funding therefor. (SB470)

Introduced By

Sen. Emmett Hanger (R-Mount Solon)

Description

Natural resources funding. Provides annual funding for natural resources from (i) 20 percent of the remaining revenues of state recordation taxes that are not currently allocated and (ii) unallocated land preservation tax credits in each calendar year. Of the revenues allocated to natural resources, 17 percent would be used to provide matching grants to local purchase of development rights programs, 16 percent would be distributed to the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, and 67 percent would be distributed to the Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program for agricultural best management practices. For the moneys allocated to agricultural best management practices, five percent would be distributed to soil and water conservation districts to provide technical assistance for the implementation of agricultural best management practices. The remaining moneys would be used for matching grants for agricultural best management practices, with 60 percent of the moneys used for lands exclusively in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and 40 percent of the moneys used for all other lands in the Commonwealth. For the moneys allocated to provide matching grants to local purchase of development rights programs, 60 percent of the moneys would be used for grants for local purchase of the development rights programs of counties and cities wholly or partly within the Chesapeake Bay watershed and 40 percent of the moneys would be used for grants for local purchase of the development rights programs of all other counties and cities. In general, for each $1 received, the local purchase of development rights program would be required to provide a $1 match. Read the Bill »

Outcome

History