Senate Bill No. 797

Introduced by Senator Anderson

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Section 206.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 797, as introduced, Anderson. Property taxation: exemption: parking: religious activities.

Existing property tax law exempts from tax any real property that is reasonably and necessarily required for the parking of automobiles by persons engaged in religious activities, as specified.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 206.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code
is amended to read:

206.1.  

(a) Pursuant to the authority begin delete of end delete begin insert in end insert subdivision (d) of
Section 4 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, and in
accordance with subdivision (b) of this section, all real property
that is necessarily and reasonably required for the parking of
automobiles of persons who are attending religious services, or
are engaged in religious services or worship or any religious
activity, is exempt from taxation.

(b) For purposes of the exemption established by subdivision
(a), all of the following begin delete shall end delete apply:

(1) “Real property” means land and improvements or a
possessory interest in land and improvements.

(2) The real property is not required to be contiguous to the land
on which the church or other structure used for religious services
or as the place of worship or religious activity is located.

(3) The real property is not at other times used for commercial
purposes. For purposes of this paragraph, “commercial purposes”
does not include use of the property for the parking of vehicles or
bicycles, the revenue from which does not exceed the ordinary
and necessary costs of maintaining the real property.

(4) The exemption shall apply to otherwise qualifying land and
improvements regardless of whether the land and improvements
are owned by the church, religious denomination, or sect using the
land and improvements for the parking of automobiles by persons
described in subdivision (a). However, the exemption shall apply
to land and improvements that are not owned by the church,
religious denomination, or sect using the land and improvements
for the parking of automobiles by persons described in subdivision
(a) only as long as all of the following conditions are met:

(A) The congregation of the church, religious denomination, or
sect is no greater than 500 members.

(B) The church, religious denomination, or sect is engaged in
a lease of the land and improvements for the exclusive purpose of
the parking of automobiles by persons described in subdivision
(a).

(C) The church, religious denomination, or sect is responsible,
under the terms of its lease with the fee owner of the land and
improvements, for paying the property taxes levied on the land
and improvements. For purposes of this subparagraph, paying
property taxes levied on land and improvements includes
reimbursement paid to the fee owner of the land and improvements
for those taxes.

(D) The real property is used exclusively for the parking of
automobiles by persons described in subdivision (a).

(E) The fee owner of the real property and the county agree that
the fee owner shall pay the total amount of taxes that would be
levied on the real property for the current fiscal year and the first
two subsequent fiscal years in the absence of a grant of exemption
pursuant to this paragraph for the current fiscal year, if the real
property is used for any purpose other than that specified in
subparagraph (D) during either of those two subsequent fiscal
years.