A controversial piece of legislation concerning tribal expansion on preserved agricultural land has been put on hold by its author to avoid having it killed in committee.

State Senator Dean Florez (D-Central Valley) called a halt to the vote on his bill because “he understood the cues,” which said there wouldn’t be enough votes to move it along, said Bob Alvarez, his chief of staff.

After hearing from opponents and proponents of the legislation in the committee in the week of April 13, Florez requested that any action be postponed, so there was no motion and no vote in the Senate Local Government Committee.

Senate Bill 170 would create a presumption that tribal cultural centers, infrastructure and housing would be a greater public benefit than preserving agricultural land in a 10-year trust. The bill would only apply to lands that adjoin a tribe’s reservation.

The goal is to provide sovereign tribes equal foot- ing with city and county governments on the cancellation of Williamson Act contracts, according to Florez’s office.

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians is one of the main sponsors behind the bill, and Alvarez said as long as they are up for the fight, Florez will push the legislation.

“It’s still the beginning of our legislative session, a two-year session,” he said. “Technically, we have until end of next year ... We still have some time to work this out.”

Several requests to spokespeople for the Chumash for comment were not immediately returned.

The southern and eastern boundaries of the 135-acre Chumash reservation in the Santa Ynez Valley are surrounded by lands under Williamson Act contracts, while at the north and west, the reservation abuts the community of Santa Ynez, according to county records.

Chumash representatives have said that the tribe approached Florez because he chairs the Senate Food and Agriculture Committee.

Alvarez said the senator would look at the suggestions laid out in the analysis presented by the Senate Local Government Committee staff.

The 1965 California Land Conservation Act, better known as the Williamson Act, encourages landowners to preserve agriculture and open space, and in exchange the property tax is assessed with the land’s actual use, rather than potential market value.

One of the suggestions was to add a condition that would require the tribal government to place land of equal or greater value under a conservation easement in exchange for cancellation of the Williamson Act contract on a separate property.

While it will be a difficult path for SB 170, it’s not impossible for it to pass all the legislative requirements within the time line, according to committee staff.

However, if the bill passes out of the local government committee, it must then get approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

swomack@syvnews.com