BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1534
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1534 (Committee on Revenue and Taxation)
As Amended April 30, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Revenue & |9-0 |Ting, Brough, | |
|Taxation | |Dababneh, Gipson, | |
| | |Roger Hernández, | |
| | |Mullin, Patterson, | |
| | |Quirk, Wagner | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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AB 1534
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SUMMARY: Prohibits any state, county, or municipal employee from
making any decision regarding a "change in ownership" (CIO) issue
or a property tax exemption without holding a valid assessment
analyst certificate issued by the State Board of Equalization
(BOE). Specifically, this bill:
1)Prohibits an assessor or any person employed by the office of
the county assessor from making decisions regarding a CIO or a
property tax exemption, other than a homeowner's exemption,
unless he/she is the holder of a valid assessment analyst
certificate issued by the BOE.
2)Requires the BOE to provide for the examination of applicants
for an assessment analyst certificate and authorizes the BOE to
contract with the Department of Human Resources to give the
examinations.
3)Provides that the examinations must be prepared by the BOE, with
the advice and assistance of a committee of five assessors
selected by the California Assessors' Association for this
purpose.
4)Prohibits the issuance of a certificate to an assessor or person
employed by the office of the county assessor who has not
attained a passing grade in the examination or demonstrated that
he/she is competent to make the CIO and exemption decisions, as
specified.
5)Grants any applicant who is denied a certificate the right to a
review of that denial in accordance with the Administrative
Procedure Act [Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part
1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code (GC)] ("APA").
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6)Provides that these requirements do not apply to an assessor or
any person employed by the office of the county assessor holding
a valid appraiser's or advanced appraiser's certificate issued
by the BOE.
7)Prohibits the BOE from imposing any charge upon a county or city
and county or an applicant for an examination or certification
required by this bill or training conducted by the BOE.
8)Requires the BOE to do both of the following:
a) Issue an advanced assessment analyst certificate for an
applicant that has held a valid assessment analyst
certificate for at least three years and has either
successfully completed an advanced study course or passed an
advanced level examination; and,
b) Prescribe an advanced course of study and prepare the
advanced level examination, with the advice and assistance of
five assessors selected by the California Assessors'
Association.
9)Requires a certified assessment analyst, in order to retain a
valid certificate, to complete at least 24 hours of training
conducted or approved by the BOE in each one-year period.
Allows any training time in excess of the 24-hour minimum that
is accumulated in any one year to be carried over as credit for
future training requirements, with a limit of three years in
which the carryover time may be credited.
10)Requires an advanced assessment analyst to complete at least 12
hours of training in each one-year period in order to retain a
valid certificate and allows any training time that is in excess
of the 12-hour minimum accumulated in any one year to be carried
over as a credit for future training requirements, with a limit
of two years in which the carryover time may be credited.
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11)Requires training for both regular and advanced assessment
analyst certificates to include new developments in applicable
case law, statutory law, and administrative rules.
12)Specifies that failure to complete additional training, as
provided, shall constitute grounds for revocation of a
certificate. A proceeding to revoke shall be conducted in
accordance with the APA.
13)Requires each applicant to disclose, at the time of
certification, on forms provided by the BOE, his or her
financial interest in any legal entity.
14)Provides that, if an applicant is required to annually file
with the Fair Political Practices Commission pursuant to Article
3 (commencing with Section 87300) of Chapter 7 of Title of the
GC), a duplicate of that filing must meet the requirements of
this bill.
15)Allows the BOE to do both of the following:
a) Issue a temporary certificate to an assessor who is newly
elected or appointed or to any person newly employed by the
office of the county assessor in order to afford the person
the opportunity to apply for, and take, an examination; and,
b) Issue an interim certificate to a current assessor or to
any person who is currently employed by the office of the
county assessor, and who is making CIO or exemption
decisions, in order to afford that person the opportunity to
apply for and take an exemption for a certificate.
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16)Prohibits the BOE from issuing a temporary or interim
certificate if its duration exceeds one year or four years,
respectively, unless the person has been duly elected or
appointed to the office of assessor.
17)Prohibits the BOE from renewing either a temporary or an
interim certificate.
18)Provides that this bill only applies to counties and cities
that adopt a resolution upon the recommendation of the assessor
to require a valid assessment analyst certification.
19)Adds finding and declarations.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, estimated General Fund costs of approximately $175,000
in the first year and $150,000 each year thereafter to the BOE to
establish and administer the certificate program.
COMMENTS:
1)The Purpose of this Bill. Current law does not require any
certification or training for employees who make change in
ownership or exemption decisions. Yet, their decisions can
potentially add or eliminate millions of dollars each year from
tax rolls statewide. Both CIO and exemption decisions have
become highly complex, requiring a deep understanding of many
different legal documents and a variety of statutes,
regulations, court decisions. This bill ensures that state and
local employees making CIO and property tax exemption decisions
are adequately trained and educated.
2)Arguments in Support. Supporters of this bill state that
"[c]urrent law does not require any certification or training
for employees who make change in ownership or exemption
decisions. Yet, their decision can potentially add or eliminate
AB 1534
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millions of dollars each year from tax rolls statewide. Both
change in ownership (CIO) and exemption decisions have become
highly complex, requiring a deep understanding of many different
legal documents and a variety of statutes, regulations, and
court decisions. This bill ensures that state and local
employees making CIO and property tax exemption decisions are
adequately trained and educated."
3)Arguments in Opposition: None submitted.
4)Background: Proposition 13 and "Change in Ownership". The
property tax applies to all classes of property and is one of
the major general revenue sources for local governments in
California. The property tax is imposed on the property owners
and is based on the value of the property. Much of the law
pertaining to taxation of property is prescribed by the
California Constitution Article XIII and Article XIII A. Since
the adoption of Proposition 13 in 1978, real property has
generally been taxed based on its value at the time of its
acquisition, with increases for inflation limited to 2% per
year. The property is reassessed to its market value when the
ownership of property is changed. While the requirement to
reassess property upon a change in ownership is contained in the
California Constitution, the phrase "change in ownership" is not
defined. There have been hundreds of court cases relating to
interpretation of "change in ownership" and exemption issues,
and attorneys with years of training still scrutinize statutory
language and argue as to its meaning and intended
interpretation.
5)What Does this Bill Do? This bill proposes to create a training
program required for any state, county, or municipal employee
who is involved in making decisions regarding a "change in
ownership" or property tax exemption, except for homeowners'
exemption claims. The annual training program will be
administered by the BOE, which will provide for the training and
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examination of applicants. Once certified, an employee will
also have to complete additional training, in order to retain a
valid certificate. Each year, a certified employee will have to
complete either 24 hours or 12 hours of training, depending on
whether he/she is an assessment analyst or an advanced
assessment analyst.
6)Addressing the Governor's Veto Message: This bill is
substantially similar to AB 2756 (Revenue and Taxation
Committee) of 2014. AB 2756 was vetoed. The Governor provided
the following in his veto message:
This measure requires employees in county Assessor
offices who decide change in ownership issues affecting
the real property tax to receive state provided training
and certification.
This is something the Assessors can and should be doing
without a state mandate.
In order to address the concerns of the Governor, this bill
creates an opt-in provision requiring the counties and cities to
first adopt a resolution upon the recommendation of the assessor
before any of the valid assessment analyst certification
requirements go into effect. By requiring counties and cities
to opt in, this bill does not create a state mandate.
Analysis Prepared by:
Carlos Anguiano / REV. & TAX. / (916) 319-2098
FN: 0000664
AB 1534
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