Bill Summary: HB 5228

• Establishes definitions and procedures for the state's acquisition of development rights on agricultural land to preserve farming uses while allowing landowners to retain property ownership.

• Authorizes the Commissioner of Agriculture to purchase development rights from willing landowners, with appraisals determining the value as the difference between highest-and-best-use value and agricultural-use value.

• Creates a community farms program allowing acquisition of development rights on farmland that doesn't meet standard preservation criteria due to size, soil quality, or location but contributes to local agricultural production.

• Permits municipalities and nonprofit conservation organizations to hold perpetual options to purchase restricted agricultural land at agricultural value, with the Department of Agriculture able to provide grant funding for these options.

• Effective October 1, 2024, and allows for federal cooperative agreements requiring conservation plans, model pollinator habitat establishment, and contingent enforcement rights for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.