§ 10-400 — Short title; findings and policy

(a) This Division may be cited as the Conservation Stewardship Law. (b) The General Assembly finds that it is in the best interest of this State to maintain, preserve, conserve, and manage unimproved land to assure the protection of these limited and unique environmental resources for the economic and social well-being of the State and its citizens. The General Assembly further finds that, to maximize voluntary taxpayer participation in conservation programs, conservation should be recognized as a legitimate land use and taxpayers should have a full range of incentive programs from which to choose. Therefore, the General Assembly declares that it is in the public interest to prevent the forced conversion of unimproved land to more intensive uses as a result of economic pressures caused by the property tax system at values incompatible with their preservation and management as unimproved land, and that a program should be designed to permit the continued availability of this land for these purposes. The General Assembly further declares that the following provisions are intended to allow for the conservation, management, and assessment of unimproved land generally suitable for the perpetual growth and preservation of such land in this State.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 95-633, eff. 10-1-07.)