BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1766|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1766
          Author:   Gaines (R) and Logue (R)
          Amended:  8/17/10 in Senate
          Vote:     27 - Urgency

           
           SENATE REVENUE & TAXATION COMMITTEE  :  3-0, 6/23/10
          AYES:  Wolk, Alquist, Padilla
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Walters, Ashburn
           
          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  11-0, 8/12/10
          AYES:  Kehoe, Ashburn, Alquist, Corbett, Emmerson, Leno,  
            Price, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  71-0, 5/24/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Disaster assistance:  49 Fire:  County of  
          Placer

           SOURCE  :     Placer County Board of Supervisors


           DIGEST  :    This bill adds the wildfires that began in  
          Placer County on August 30, 2009 (49 Fire) to the list of  
          disasters eligible for full state reimbursement of local  
          property tax losses, beneficial homeowners' property tax  
          exemption treatment, and special "carry forward" treatment  
          of excess disaster losses. 

           ANALYSIS  :    

          This bill:
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 1766
                                                                Page  
          2


          1. Provides a mechanism for reimbursing Placer County for  
             property tax losses resulting from the reassessment of  
             properties damaged by the 49 Fire. 

          2. Provides that any dwelling that qualified for a  
             homeowners' property tax exemption before August 30,  
             2009, that was damaged or destroyed by the 49 Fire, and  
             that has not changed ownership since the 49 Fire, shall  
             not be denied a homeowners' exemption solely because  
             that dwelling was temporarily damaged or destroyed, or  
             was being reconstructed by the owner, or was temporarily  
             uninhabited as a result of restricted access. 

          3. Provides that any taxpayer's excess disaster loss  
             resulting from the 49 Fire shall be carried forward to  
             each of the five taxable years following the taxable  
             year for which the loss is claimed. However, if there is  
             any excess disaster loss remaining after this five-year  
             period, then the applicable percentage of that excess  
             disaster loss shall be carried forward to each of the  
             next 10 taxable years. 

          4. Conditions reimbursements to local governments for  
             losses from assessment reductions resulting from fire  
             disasters that occur after January 1, 2011 upon a county  
             demonstrating the following:  
             (a) provision of adequate structural fire protection  
             services in state responsibility areas, (b) compliance  
             with existing fire prevention requirements in very high  
             fire hazard severity zones, and (c) the county has a  
             fire risk reduction public education program if it has  
             land designated as a very high fire hazard severity zone  
             within its jurisdiction.  This provision would only  
             apply to future fire disasters, but Placer County may  
             already meet these requirements.

           Comments  

           The 49 Fire  .  On August 30, 2009, a wildfire started in  
          Placer County.  That same day, Governor Arnold  
          Schwarzenegger proclaimed a state of emergency, noting that  
          the fire had burned hundreds of acres, destroyed several  
          homes and commercial structures, and forced hundreds of  







                                                               AB 1766
                                                                Page  
          3

          people to be evacuated. 

           Related Legislation 
           
          AB 1662 (Portantino), 2009-10 Session, provides similar  
          disaster relief in connection with certain wildfires that  
          occurred in Los Angeles and Monterey Counties.  The bill is  
          pending in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. 

          AB 1690 (Chesbro), 2009-10 Session, provides similar  
          disaster relief in connection with the recent earthquake  
          that struck Humboldt County.  The bill is pending in the  
          Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. 

          AB 2136 (V. Manuel Perez), 2009-10 Session, provides  
          similar disaster relief in connection with the earthquake  
          that struck Imperial County on 
          April 4, 2010.  The bill is pending in the Senate Revenue  
          and Taxation Committee. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  Yes   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions          2010-11   2011-12    2012-13      Fund  

          Property tax reimbursement      $140                 
          General*
          Homeowner's exemption           $3 annually until homes are  
          rebuilt                 General
          Disaster loss carryover         $8 (FY 2009-10)     General

           * Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties (NOTE:  This  
            Fund is continuously appropriated, therefore, requiring  
            an allocation for this purpose constitutes an  
            appropriation.)

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/17/10)

          Placer County Board of Supervisors (source)
          California Professional Firefighters







                                                               AB 1766
                                                                Page  
          4

          California Special Districts Association
          California State Association of Counties
          Regional Council of Rural Counties


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,  
            Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles  
            Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De  
            La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer,  
            Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,  
            Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi,  
            Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Lieu, Logue,  
            Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nestande,  
            Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,  
            Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra  
            Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,  
            Yamada, John A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bass, Evans, Hall, Hernandez, Knight,  
            Nava, Saldana, Villines, Vacancy


          DLW:mw  8/17/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****