BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2314|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2314
          Author:   Block (D)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE REVENUE & TAXATION COMMITTEE  :  3-0, 6/9/10
          AYES:  Wolk, Alquist, Padilla
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Walters, Ashburn

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  71-0, 4/26/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Property tax exemption: disabled veterans:  
          procedure

           SOURCE  :     Board of Equalization


           DIGEST  :    This bill extends the time period for a disabled  
          veteran, who has not yet received a disability rating from  
          the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA),  
          to file a property tax exemption claim, and deletes a  
          requirement for the disabled veteran to have a "pending"  
          application with the USDVA.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law (California Constitution) allows  
          the Legislature to partially or wholly exempt from property  
          taxes the value of a disabled veteran's home if the veteran  
          has lost one or more limbs, is totally blind, or is totally  
          disabled, as a result of a service-connected injury.  The  
          Constitution allows taxpayers to apply the disabled  
          veterans' exemption, currently provided by statute at the  
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          inflation adjusted value of either $115,060 or $172,592  
          depending on the taxpayer's income, but not in addition to  
          the veterans or homeowners' exemption. The Constitution  
          additionally allows the exemption for unmarried surviving  
          spouses of persons who die while on active duty, or  
          subsequently die as a result of service-connected injuries.  
           Existing law provides the specific statutory exemption  
          amounts, and requires taxpayers eligible for the exemption  
          to file a claim for the exemption once with the Assessor.   
          Taxpayers who file claims after February 15th obtain  
          partial exemptions of either 85% or 90% for the first year,  
          then the full exemption in subsequent years; however,  
          taxpayers may obtain a cancellation of taxes and a refund  
          for a claim filed after that date when the USDVA has not  
          finished processing the veteran's disability rating  
          certification.  Taxpayers receive refunds when they submit  
          an appropriate claim with the disability rating letter from  
          the USDVA the later of 30 days after receiving the letter  
          or on or before the next lien date (January 1), giving  
          taxpayers waiting for the certification some leeway to  
          obtain the full exemption.  Additionally, the law also  
          requires the taxpayer to have an application pending with  
          the USDVA when filing the exemption.

          This bill extends from 30 days to 90 days the deadline for  
          taxpayers applying for the disabled veterans' exemption to  
          submit the USDVA rating letter.  The measure also repeals  
          the requirement that the taxpayer have an application  
          pending with the USDVA to be eligible for tax cancellation  
          and subsequent refund.

           Comments
           
          According to the author's office:

               This bill removes unnecessary impediments to receiving  
               the disabled veterans' property tax exemption  
               retroactively which the Board of Equalization has  
               identified and would assist disabled veterans in  
               getting full retroactive property tax exemptions on  
               their home should they become eligible for the  
               exemption at a future date.

               A disabled veterans' exemption is available to persons  







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               with a 100%   disability rating from the USDVA.  (The  
               exemption is also available to surviving spouses of  
               persons killed in active duty.)  The exemption is up  
               to $175,592 for those with household incomes below  
               $51,669 and applies to the principal place of  
               residence.

               It can take a number of years to receive a disability  
               rating from the USDVA, particularly if the veteran  
               appeals the initial disability rating.  In 2000,  
               legislation was enacted to allow disabled veterans to  
               receive the full amount of the exemption retroactively  
               once they received a qualifying disability rating with  
               a back dated effective date - but they were only given  
               30 days to file the claim.  Thirty days will not  
               always be enough time since there are a variety of  
               materials as well as various programs and benefits  
               that disabled veterans' and their families must sort  
               through after receiving their disability rating which  
               can be overwhelming.  This bill would give disabled  
               veterans' more time (up to 90 days) to file for the  
               property tax exemption for which they become newly  
               qualified.

               This bill would also eliminate references to having a  
               pending application with the USDVA which may allow  
               more disabled veterans to receive the exemption  
               retroactively to the effective date of disability.  In  
               some instances, there may not have necessarily been a  
               pending application and in others tax administrators  
               have requested proof of the pending application which  
               was not easy to obtain.  This is an unnecessary  
               condition and counter to the intent to provide any  
               subsequently eligible disabled veteran the full amount  
               of the exemption retroactively.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/10/10)

          Board of Equalization (source) 









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           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, 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, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,  
            Fuentes, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,  
            Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,  
            Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,  
            Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen,  
            Norby, Portantino, Ruskin, Saldana, Silva, Skinner,  
            Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson,  
            Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Arambula, Bass, Fuller, Furutani,  
            Monning, V. Manuel Perez, Salas, John A. Perez


          DLW:nl  6/10/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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