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2023 SESSION

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SB 1122 Open-Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund; use of funds, conservation easements.

Introduced by: Emmett W. Hanger, Jr. | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles | history

SUMMARY AS PASSED SENATE:

Open-Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund; use of funds; conservation easements to nonprofit land trust. Allows grants made from the Open Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund to be used to aid localities in providing funding for projects approved by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation to persons conveying conservation easements to nonprofit land trusts so long as such easement has a local coholder, as defined in the bill. In cases where a grant is used to purchase all or part of the value of a property interest, such property interest is required to be (i) compliant with the Open-Space Land Act or (ii) a conservation easement under the Virginia Conservation Easement Act, so long as the holder of such easement is accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission or its designated subsidiary entity. If the Land Trust Accreditation Commission accreditation is not available at the time of the grant application for such holder, the Foundation is required to evaluate such holder on a case-by-case basis consistent with its established guidelines.

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Open-space lands preservation trust fund; use of funds; conservation easements to nonprofit land trust. Allows a person conveying conservation easements to a nonprofit land trust to receive grants from the Open Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund for costs associated with such conveyances, such as legal and appraisal costs or all or part of the value of the easements, provided that if such property interest is not compliant with the Open-Space Land Act, such person is accredited by the Land Trust Alliance at the time of the grant award. The bill provides that if such accreditation is not available at the time of the grant application, the Virginia Outdoor Foundation must evaluate such holder on a case-by-case basis. Under current law, the Fund is only available to persons that convey a property interest to the Foundation and localities.