(a) The department shall give priority consideration for any grants, bond proceeds, and other local assistance funding provided by the department to a city or county that does all of the following:
(1) Completes the agricultural land component of the open space element or an agricultural land element as described in Section 65565.
(2) Provides the department with any geographical information system (GIS) data corresponding with the information identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 65565.
(3) Continues to review, and revise if necessary, the agricultural land component of the open-space element or the agricultural land element upon each revision of the housing element to identify new information that was not available during the previous revision of the open-space element or the agricultural land element.
(b) A city or county with an existing agricultural land component of their open-space element or an existing separate agricultural land element that substantially complies with Section 65565 may apply to the department for priority consideration pursuant to subdivision (a) by doing all of the following:
(1) Submitting a copy of the agricultural land component of their open-space element or the separate agricultural land element to the department. The department shall determine whether the component substantially complies with Section 65565.
(2) Submitting any other supporting background documentation that corresponds with the information identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 65565.
(3) Continuing to review, and revise if necessary, the agricultural land component of the open-space element or the agricultural land element upon each revision of the housing element to identify new information that was not available during the previous revision of the open-space element or the agricultural land element.
(c) The department may promulgate regulations, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2), that are necessary to carry out its duties under this chapter.
(d) The department, in consultation with the Office of Planning and Research and the Department of Housing and Community Development, may develop nonbinding guidance for local governments on agricultural land conservation planning and policy, including model policies.
(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 434, Sec. 6. (SB 732) Effective January 1, 2018.)