4158

VETOES

the General Assembly that the assessment of farmland shall be
maintained at levels compatible with the continued use of such
land for farming and shall not be adversely affected by
neighboring land uses of a more intensive nature. The General
Assembly hereby declares it to be in the general public interest
that farming be fostered and encouraged in order to maintain a
readily available source of food and dairy products close to the
metropolitan areas of the State, to encourage the preservation of
open space as an amenity necessary to human welfare and
happiness, and to prevent the forced conversion of such open
space to more intensive uses as a result of economic pressures
caused by the assessment of land at a rate or level incompatible
with the practical use of such land for farming. The State
Department of Assessments and Taxation shall establish criteria
for the purpose of determining whether lands which appear to be
actively devoted to farm or agricultural use are in fact bona
fide farms and qualify for assessment under this subsection AND
FOR THE PURPOSE OF ADMINISTERING THE PROVISIONS OF THIS
SUBSECTION. Such criteria shall be promulgated in rules and
regulations which shall include, but shall not be limited to, the
following:

[(i)] 1. Zoning applicable to the land.

[(ii)] 2. Present and past use of the land
including land under the soil bank provisions of the Agricultural
Stabilization Act of the United States government.

[(iii)] 3. Productivity of the land including
timberlands and lands used for reforestation.

4. GROSS INCOME DERIVED FROM THE
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY.

(II)  IN DETERMINING WHETHER LANDS WHICH APPEAR
TO BE ACTIVELY DEVOTED TO FARM OR AGRICULTURAL USE ARE IN FACT
BONA FIDE FARMS, THE DEPARTMENT MAY, IN THE INSTANCE OF PARCELS
OF LESS THAN 20 ACRES, REQUIRE THE PROPERTY OWNER TO CERTIFY THAT
THE AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY RESULTS IN AN AVERAGE ANNUAL GROSS
INCOME OF $2,500 FROM THE PARCEL OR AGRICULTURAL LAND UNIT.

(III)  FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBSECTION, THE
FOLLOWING TERMS HAVE THE MEANINGS INDICATED:

1.  "ACTIVELY DEVOTED" MEANS LANDS THAT
ARE ACTUALLY USED EXCLUSIVELY FOR A PRIMARILY FOR AN ONGOING BONA
FIDE AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY.

2. "AGRICULTURAL LAND UNIT" MEANS THE
COMBINATION OF NOT MORE THAN 3 PARCELS OF LAND WHEN THE PARCELS
ARE LOCATED IN THE SAME COUNTY AND ARE UNDER THE SAME OWNERSHIP.

2. 3. "ANNUAL GROSS INCOME" MEANS THE
ACTUAL INCOME RECEIVED IN A CALENDAR YEAR WHICH IS DIRECTLY