Williamson Act

Non-Renewal Process

View the WA Non-Renewal Packet and Information (PDF).

Assembly Bill (AB) 1265

On August 27, 2019 the Board of Supervisors, following a Public Hearing, voted to: 

  1. Implement the provisions of Government Code 51244 et seq. which will: (a) reduce the term of 10-year Williamson Act contracts to nine (9) years; and (b) reduce the term of 20-year Farmland Security zone (Super Williamson Act) contracts to eighteen (18) years.
  2. Amend Colusa County's Williamson Act program rules to provide for the reduction in the length of contracts; and
  3. Direct County staff to take the necessary actions to implement said provisions.

These actions will shorten the length of Williamson Act contracts within the County of Colusa as described above and reduce the amount of tax savings previously afforded to Williamson Act contract holders by approximately 10 percent.

Continued Implementation

Every year the Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing to consider the continued implementation of the provisions of Government Code 51244 et seq. (commonly referred to as the AB 1265 process)

A notice will be mailed to each Williamson Act Contract holder informing them of the upcoming public hearing.  A notice of decision will be mailed to each Williamson Act Contract holder after the public hearing and a decision to continue the implementation of Government Code 51244 et seq. is made.  A landowner has the right to prevent the reduction in the term of their contract(s) by filing a notice of non-renewal within ninety (90) calendar days from the date of this notice with the Colusa County Community Development Department.  Please be aware that if you file a notice of non-renewal you will be removed from the Williamson Act program and you will lose more in tax savings the first year of the non-renewal period than if you had not non-renewed.  In addition, at the end of the non-renewal period you will lose all of the Williamson Act contract tax savings.

Failure of the landowner to serve timely notice of nonrenewal in any year shall be considered implied consent to the reduction in the length of contracts for that year.  Once the notice of non-renewal has been served and becomes effective, a landowner’s nonrenewal notice may not be withdrawn except for cause and with the consent of the County.

The Williamson Act AB 1265 Calculator

Williamson Act AB 1265 Calculator (XLSX)
(download the estimator)

*Please note - THE CALCULATOR ONLY PROVIDES ESTIMATES. The actual reduction of tax saving may be more or less than the estimate provided by the calculator. Also, if your assessment parcel number has changed for any reason in the past two to three years it may not be reflected in the calculator's database.

The Purpose Of the AB 1265 Calculator

In order to help inform the public what these actions would have on the current tax savings of Williamson Act contract holders, County staff has put together the Williamson Act AB 1265 Calculator (XLSX). The purpose of this calculator is to provide a preliminary estimate on the reduction of tax savings and an estimate of the tax savings that would remain. While every effort was made to provide accurate estimates, there are many variables involved in the calculation of property taxes and, as such, the results of the AB 1265 Calculator are provided as estimates.

For the actual reduction of tax savings or a changed parcel number not reflected in the calculator's database, please call the Assessor's Office for more information at 530-458-0450.

Calculator Requirements

The AB 1265 Calculator file download requires that your device has access to an Excel program, or a program that can read Excel spreadsheets and then you must enable editing for the file. If you do not have such a program or have any problems with the Calculator, you can still obtain the information by sending an email to . Please include your name, contact information, and the Assessor Parcel Number(s) that you wish to obtain the data on. Alternatively, you can obtain an estimation of the potential reduction in tax savings by completing this form: Williamson Act AB 1265 Calculator Inquiry Form.

Every effort will be made to respond as quickly as possible. However, given the anticipated number of inquiries, it may take as long as 24 to 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays.

Should you have any additional questions, you may contact the Planning Department at (530) 458-0480 or the Assessor's Office at (530) 458-0450.

Thank you!