AB 1156: “Farm to Solar” Bill Approved by California Legislature
AB 1156 (Wicks), the “Farm to Solar” bill, was approved by the Legislature last week and is expected to be signed into law by Governor Newsom. The bill makes it easier for farmers to turn water-constrained farmland into solar energy projects by providing relief from Williamson Act contract requirements, both regular 10-year contracts and 20-year Farmland Security Zone contracts. Wicks sponsored the bill with support from clean energy coalitions, farming organizations, labor unions, and environmental advocates. Opposition included the California Farm Bureau Federation and the California Cattlemen’s Association, as well as several counties. As reported by Sammy Roth in his newsletter “Climate Colored Goggles” (Substack), the bill squeaked through with no votes to spare.
AB 1156 amends the Williamson Act (Government Code §§ 51200 - 51297.4)—the decades-old law allowing reduced property taxes in exchange for enrollment in long-term agricultural contracts—to expand two agricultural conversion mechanisms that have been available for years but rarely invoked. The first involves the waiver or extension of fees required when a contract is cancelled before its expiration date. While it was possible to obtain a waiver or extension of payment of cancellation fees, AB 1156 simplifies the process and allows waiver of such fees under certain circumstances and mandates it under others. Relief from payment of cancellation fees eliminates a significant budget item for many projects, as cancellation fees are 12.5% of the land’s fair market value for 10-year contracts and 25% for 20-year contracts and often considered a “penalty” for early cancellation.
AB 1156 also expands the circumstances under which Williamson Act contracts are null and void by operation of law and extends this nullification to qualifying solar projects. Contracts deemed void by operation of law do not require cancellation, removing a significant political hurdle for farmers and solar developers trying to develop solar energy projects. And because cancellation is not required, no cancellation fees are due.
Waivers/Extensions of Payment of Cancellation Fees. As noted above, waivers from payment of cancellation fees (or extension of the time to pay those fees) have always been available under the Williamson Act for contracts cancelled by local governments. But obtaining such waivers required petitioning local government and the Secretary of Resources (the head of the Department of Conservation) and showing that the waiver is in the public interest. AB 1156 streamlines the process by eliminating the requirement to petition local government for a waiver or extension and allowing the landowner to go directly to the Secretary of Resources, as any cancellation fees ultimately are paid to the state and not to local governments.
AB 1156 provides for two tracks for relief from cancellation fees: a discretionary track and a mandatory track. Under the discretionary track, the Secretary of Resources “may” grant a waiver to qualifying projects if it finds the waiver to be “in the public interest.” To qualify for this discretionary waiver, a solar project must be located in a groundwater basin or subbasin that has been determined to be in critical overdraft, i.e., where the average amount of groundwater extraction exceeds the long-term supply of water to the basin. This represents approximately 22% of the state’s groundwater basins currently subject to active management under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, almost all of which are located in the Central Valley. In addition, a project must have entered into a community benefits agreement (CBA) that complies with the requirements of AB 205 (the California Energy Commission’s Opt-in Program), except that, for purposes of AB 1156, CBAs can only be with the local government in which the solar project is located, rather than the variety of organizations (including governmental, tribal, environmental, educational and labor organizations) which qualify under AB 205.
Under the mandatory track, the Secretary of Resources “shall” grant a 10-year extension to pay the cancellation fees for solar projects that are located in a critically overdrafted basin upon proof that the local government has cancelled the contract. If the solar project is in fact built during this 10-year period, the Secretary “shall” waive the fees.
Contracts Void By Operation of Law. AB 1156 also expands provisions in the Williamson Act to render contracts null and void by operation of law when qualifying solar projects are developed on that land. The nullification of the contract by operation of law means no petition for cancellation needs to be made to the local government, no public hearings are required, no discretionary decision is triggered, and no cancellation fees are due. Rather, the contract is deemed to no longer exist. There are three criteria for eligibility. A solar project must:
- be located in a groundwater basin or sub-basin determined to be in a condition of critical overdraft;
- have entered into a qualifying CBA with the local government in which the project is located; and
- have been certified as an Environmental Leadership Development Project (ELDP) under SB 7. (We prepared a separate client alert explaining the criteria for and additional benefits of certification available here.)
For projects meeting these criteria, AB 1156 provides that any contract shall be “deemed null and void” as to the land actually being developed as a solar project.
Conclusion: In her testimony on August 28, 2026, to the Senate Local Government Committee, the bill’s sponsor, Buffy Wicks, succinctly explained AB 1156’s benefits:
“It provides a voluntary, locally-driven option to communities and farmers that are wrestling with this stark reality: accelerating solar energy deployment on farms currently under the Williamson Act in critically overdrafted basins. This legislation balances our state's renewable energy and food production needs while prioritizing the repurposing of agricultural lands that don't have adequate access to groundwater.”
Senate Standing Committee on Local Government August 28, 2026 | Digital Democracy
For projects that qualify, the benefits of AB 1156 are significant and will streamline permitting and reduce costs for solar projects in California. Please reach out to the authors if you have any questions on the applicability of AB 1156 to your project or would like to apply for the benefits created by the new law.
