BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2109
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Date of Hearing: May 14, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2109 (Daly) - As Amended: May 6, 2014
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:9-0
Revenue & Taxation 9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Controller to include information
relating to the imposition of each locally-assessed parcel tax,
including the type and rate of parcel tax and the number of
parcels subject to or exempt from the tax, in its annual county,
city, and special district financial transaction reports.
The bill further requires each county, city, and special
district that assesses a parcel tax to provide the relevant
information to the Controller for those reports, and defines
"parcel tax" for that purpose.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time GF costs to the Controller of approximately $450,000
develop the systems and procedures required to collect,
analyze, and publish the data in the reports; ongoing annual
GF costs of approximately $50,000 to $100,000 thereafter.
2)Significant reimbursable costs to counties, cities, and
special districts that assess parcel taxes to modify systems
to report the required information.
COMMENTS
1) Purpose. According to the author, this bill is intended to
provide transparency on parcel taxes, especially as these
taxes have grown increasingly popular among local governments.
Proponents argue the bill will provide valuable information
for state and local lawmakers on how many past parcel taxes
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have been levied, how much revenue has been generated from
those taxes, and what programs have benefitted from that
revenue.
Proponents also claim a detailed report on parcel taxes would
help inform voters, who decide on several parcel tax measures
throughout the state each election. The report would also
help businesses in their decisions regarding long-term
planning, expansion, and relocation.
2) Parcel Tax. A parcel tax is a special tax on property, and is
often not based on the property's value. Instead, parcel
taxes are often flat fees imposed by a local government on
each "parcel" of real property, both residential and
commercial. Because a parcel may be a small residential plot
or a 100-acre estate, parcel taxes are generally regressive,
meaning owners of small parcels pay a larger percentage of tax
compared with the land owned.
Existing law does not impose limits on the use of special tax
proceeds, allowing local governments to specify a particular
use for parcel taxes in the relevant ballot measure.
Generally, local parcel taxes provide funding for schools and
other local building projects. Counties collect parcel taxes
with property taxes, and then remit funds to the district
imposing the tax. Property tax law generally guides parcel
tax collection.
3) Oversight of Locally-Imposed Parcel Taxes. Existing law
requires the Controller to compile and publish on its website
annual reports summarizing local agencies' finances, including
their revenue sources. These reports are based on the
financial data submitted to the Controller by the counties,
cities and special districts, and provide detail on the
aggregate amount of various taxes collected by each local
agency, including the county allocation of ad valorem taxes on
real property, voter-approved taxes, property assessments, and
special assessments. This information is not independently
verified by the Controller and appears to currently include
parcel tax revenues under the heading of "other taxes."
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Analysis Prepared by : Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916) 319-2081