BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 801|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 801
Author: Committee on Governance and Finance
Amended: 8/18/15
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 6-0, 4/29/15
AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Moorlach
SENATE FLOOR: 36-0, 5/18/15
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Block, Cannella, De León,
Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill,
Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire,
Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen,
Nielsen, Pan, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Hall, Pavley
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 9/1/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Property tax postponement
SOURCE: State Controller Betty Yee
DIGEST: This bill makes minor, technical changes to the
Property Tax Postponement (PTP) Program.
Assembly Amendments change the definition of "claimant" in the
four PTP laws to ensure consistency, change the application
period, set consistent fee amounts for claimants to request PTP
accounting statements, delete references in PTP law to
mobilehomes, and make further technical changes.
ANALYSIS:
SB 801
Page 2
Existing law:
1) Establishes the Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens PTP
Law, which allows the State Controller to pay property taxes
to county tax collectors, on behalf of individuals over the
age of 62 or disabled persons making less than $39,000 in
income per year.
2) Allows postponement for homes, mobilehomes, tenant
stockholder/cooperatives and possessory interests by
establishing a separate law for each.
3) Directs the Controller to secure repayment of the loan by
recording a lien against the claimant's property, which is
satisfied when the home is sold or refinanced. As liens are
repaid out of sales proceeds, revenue flows back to the
Controller, who in turn uses these funds to pay property
taxes for new applicants.
4) Provides that until recently, prohibited persons from filing
new claims for PTP and the Controller from accepting
applications (SBX3 8, Ducheny, Chapter 4, Statutes of
2009-10, Third Extraordinary Session). However, the
Legislature resuscitated the program last year by removing
SBX3 8's prohibition, albeit with tightened eligibility
criteria and a requirement for the Controller to transfer to
the General Fund repayments received above a $20 million
total (AB 2231, Gordon, Chapter 703, Statutes of 2014).
5) Sets the application period from September 1st to April
10th.
6) States that under the prior PTP program, the Controller
provided "certificates of eligibility" to applicants to pay
their property taxes. The Controller submitted these
"checks" to the county.
7) Requires county treasurers under the prior program, to add
the property description to the lien for properties, owned by
individuals enrolled in the program, and then forward the
lien to the county recorder for filing.
SB 801
Page 3
8) Sets a $30 fee for claimants requesting an accounting of PTP
amounts postponed and interest charged, which was updated by
AB 2231 from $10, but not in the tenant-cooperative law.
9) Contains references throughout PTP law to mobile homes.
10)Allows the Controller to pay delinquent taxes under the
Possessory Interest Holder law, but not under the other three
laws.
11)Provides generally that county tax collectors should refund
property tax overpayments directly to taxpayers; however,
when the Controller pays on behalf of a taxpayer who
successfully appeals the Controller's determination of
eligibility and that taxpayer has already paid, the law
doesn't explicitly require the refund.
This bill:
1) Removes the reference to certificates in several sections.
2) Clarifies that interest rates for past loans are calculated
at the Pooled Money Investment Account rate, as was the case
under the former program, while future loans pay the 7% rate
provided for in AB 2231.
3) Replaces references from county tax collectors to the
Controller in sections for preparing liens.
4) Deletes the information required as part of the lien.
5) Revises the application period currently set as September
1st to April 10th to October 1st to February 10th, to ensure
successful claimants can be notified before the first
property tax installment is due.
6) Changes the verb from "recorded" to "executed" to
appropriately reflect the Controller's role in the revised
program.
7) Increases the fee to $30 fee for claimants requesting an
accounting of PTP amounts postponed and interest charged in
SB 801
Page 4
the tenant-cooperative law, making this fee amount consistent
with all other PTP laws.
8) Removes references to mobilehomes throughout PTP laws.
9) Deletes authority for the Controller to pay delinquent taxes
under the Possessory Interest Holder law.
10)States explicitly that in the event an appeal reverses the
initial denial of eligibility and the Controller sends a
payment for taxes due in the same fiscal year, for which the
taxpayer has paid the taxes, the county must refund that
amount.
11)Corrects erroneous cross-references and section numbering,
and removes other obsolete provisions.
Comments
When AB 2231 resurrected the PTP program, it didn't change all
the statutes necessary for the Controller to ensure that the law
would be administered effectively. SB 801 consolidates several
minor, technical changes to PTP program statutes to assist the
Controller implement the program as she prepares to again begin
accepting applications in September. Senate Rule 23 requires
all members of the Committee to sign Committee Bills prior to
introduction, so SB 801 can only contain items with universal
agreement; should anyone object to a provision in the measure,
it will be removed.
Related Legislation
SB 477 (Leyva, 2015) adds mobilehomes back into the PTP program
by amending the general PTP law. The Assembly Appropriations
Committee held the bill on its suspense file.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified9/1/15)
SB 801
Page 5
State Controller Betty Yee (source)
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/1/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 9/01/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
Prepared by:Colin Grinnell / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
9/1/15 21:12:30
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