BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 948
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Date of Hearing: June 15, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
SB 948 (Governance and Finance Committee) - As Amended: June
7, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Property taxation.
SUMMARY : Makes changes to property tax collection laws.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows treasurer-tax collectors, when they provide notice of
the right to claim proceeds to the last known parties of
interest in a tax sale but cannot obtain the address of the
last known party, to skip the requirement to publish the
notice in a newspaper of general circulation if the costs of
publication exceed the amount of the tax sale's proceeds.
2)Clarifies that taxpayers file protests with the county clerk,
and pay taxes to the treasurer-tax collector.
3)Allows assessors to disclose information that assists
treasurer-tax collectors with tax sales, such as notifying
potential parties of interest.
4)Amends the Revenue and Taxation Code section regarding
discharges of accountability to require discharges under that
section to comply with updated Government Code sections.
5)Clarifies, for situations of overpayment, that the
treasurer-tax collector determines whether an overpayment
exists at the date and time the payment is received, and
allows the tax collector to process a refund without
requesting that the taxpayer file a refund claim.
6)Requires the treasurer-tax collector, when taxpayers or their
agents make payments on the wrong property, to transfer the
payment to the intended property or refund the payment to the
taxpayer within 60 days of verifying the mistake, or the date
that the payment is not subject to chargeback, dishonor, or
reversal, and specifies that interest shall only be paid if
the treasurer-tax collector does not transfer or refund the
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payment after that date.
7)Revises the section of law dealing with the correction of
errors in publications published by a treasurer-tax collector
to specify that the treasurer-tax collector has 60 days after
the original publication to republish, and specifies that the
re-publication shall not affect the right of a taxpayer,
assesse, or other private party in a material way.
8)Removes the requirement to notify the Controller, in the
situation when a treasurer-tax collector proposes property for
a tax sale and that parcel is removed upon the recommendation
from the county counsel that removal is in the best interest
of the county.
9)Requires third party agents to submit proof of the source of
excess proceeds to which an individual is entitled, so that
agents that know specific sources of proceeds can claim
proceeds unhindered, but those who do not cannot submit
blanket claims.
10)Makes other technical corrections to property tax collection
laws to update incorrect cross references and correct outdated
code sections.
11)Provides that no reimbursement is required by the provisions
of the bill because the only costs that may be incurred by a
local agency or school district are the result of a program
for which legislative authority was requested by that local
agency or school district.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires treasurer-tax collectors to provide notice to the
right to claim proceeds to the last known parties of interest
in a tax sale that exceeds $150, and specifies that if the
treasurer-tax collector cannot obtain the address, he/she must
publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the
county.
2)Requires taxpayers to submit payments and protest claims with
the treasurer-tax collector.
3)Requires counties to pay interest to taxpayers when a court
allows the taxpayer to recover a penalty previously assessed
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under paragraphs specified sections of the Revenue and
Taxation Code.
4)Prohibits assessors from disclosing information and records,
as specified.
5)Allows any county department, officer, or employee that
collects taxes, penalties, or other costs to file an
application for a "discharge of accountability" whenever the
costs of collection exceed the revenue collected.
6)Requires, when a taxpayer overpays tax by more than $10, the
treasurer-tax collector to notify the taxpayer of the
overpayment.
7)Allows, if a taxpayer makes a payment on the wrong property,
the treasurer-tax collector to cancel the credit on the
unintended property and apply it to the correct property
within a specified time period.
8)Provides, for taxes paid before or after delinquency, that
taxes shall be refunded if the payments exceed the equalized
value of the property determined by the county board of
equalization.
9)Allows, if a treasurer-tax collector makes an error in a
publication, the treasurer-tax collector to correct the error
in a supplementary publication lasting at least ten days in
the same manner as the original publication.
10)Allows the treasurer-tax collector, whenever a treasurer-tax
collector proposes property for a tax sale, to remove the
parcel upon recommendation from the county counsel that the
removal is in the best interest of the county, and requires
the treasurer-tax collector to notify the Controller of the
removal of the parcel for sale.
11)Allows third party agents to recover excess tax proceeds on
behalf of individuals, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)In prior years the former Senate Revenue & Taxation Committee
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has authored a measure annually to enact several changes to
property tax collection laws that is sponsored and approved
unanimously by the California Association of County Treasurers
and Tax Collectors (CACTTC). This bill, SB 948, is authored
by the newly created Senate Governance and Finance Committee,
and is intended to improve the administration of property tax
collection laws to help both taxpayers and counties.
Consolidating the measures into a single bill negates the need
for individual bills to enact each change. As such, all items
in the bill have been vetted through interested parties and
have universal agreement to be included in the bill.
2)This bill is double-referred to the Assembly Revenue and
Taxation Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958