SECTIONS 7301-7309 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 7301-7309

7301. For purposes of this chapter:
(a) "Land" means any right or interest, including development
rights, in real property which is essentially unimproved and devoted
to an open-space use as defined in Section 65560 or real property
which is of significant historic or cultural value.
(b) "Person" means a transferee of property subject to tax under
the Inheritance Tax Law (Part 8 (commencing with Section 13301) of
Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code), which includes
open-space land, where the total property transferred to such
transferee does not include sufficient money or other liquid assets
to pay the state inheritance tax on the transfer.
(c) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Resources Agency.

7302. Any person may offer land included within a transfer
described in Section 7301 to the state for preservation as open-space
land.

7303. The inheritance tax referee shall certify the appraised value
of the land and the amount of taxes due and payable by the
transferee. Such certification shall accompany any offer of land to
the state.

7304. The secretary shall establish criteria to evaluate the
significance of the land offered and the feasibility of the state
accepting any right or interest in such land. Land offered to the
state pursuant to this chapter shall be accepted or rejected by the
secretary within 120 days of the receipt of the offer.

7305. Upon receipt of the offer, the secretary shall notify the
county in which the land being offered is located of the state's
consideration. The secretary shall consult with the Wildlife
Conservation Board and the Department of Parks and Recreation to
evaluate any offer. Pursuant to Section 11005, the secretary shall
accept an offer of land only upon approval of the Director of
Finance.

7306. Upon acceptance of an offer of land pursuant to this chapter,
the secretary shall forward appropriate certification of such
acceptance to the Controller.

7307. Land accepted by the state pursuant to this chapter shall be
maintained and preserved in perpetuity as open-space land, except as
provided in Section 7308.

7308. Unless otherwise provided in the terms of acceptance or
prohibited by encumbrances on the land, real property conveyed to the
state under this chapter may be conveyed, transferred, exchanged, or
granted only if the secretary finds that the state has received in
exchange land of comparable significance or a combination of money
and land of comparable significance, at least equal to the fair
market value of the land conveyed, transferred, exchanged, or
granted.
The findings of the secretary as to land of comparable
significance or of money and land of comparable significance, and of
fair market value, shall be conclusively presumed in favor of any
person to whom the land is conveyed, transferred, exchanged, or
granted.

7309. Notwithstanding Section 14103 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code, inheritance tax imposed on land offered to the state pursuant
to this chapter shall not be delinquent until 160 days after receipt
of an offer by the secretary.