BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
                         Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

                              
          
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          |Bill No:  |SB 1480                          |Hearing    |4/20/16  |
          |          |                                 |Date:      |         |
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          |Author:   |Committee on Governance and      |Tax Levy:  |No       |
          |          |Finance                          |           |         |
          |----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------|
          |Version:  |3/17/16                          |Fiscal:    |No       |
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          |Consultant|Grinnell                                              |
          |:         |                                                      |
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                Property tax:  local government property:  application



          Changes the deadline for appeals for assessments of certain  
          properties owned by local governments (Section 11 properties).


           Background 

           Section One of Article XIII of the California Constitution  
          provides that all property is taxable and shall be assessed at  
          the same percentage of fair market value, unless explicitly  
          exempted by the Constitution or federal law.  One such exemption  
          is for property owned by a local government, unless the property  
          is located outside the boundaries of the local government that  
          owns it, and the property was taxable before its acquisition.   
          These are known as "Section 11 properties" after the Section of  
          Article XIII that provides for its property tax treatment.  In  
          such a case, the assessor in the county where the property is  
          located values it for tax purposes, but the Constitution  
          provides that these assessments shall be subject to review,  
          equalization, and adjustment by the Board of Equalization (BOE),  
          not the assessment appeals board.  According to BOE, counties  
          filed five appeals in the last 20 years, with four settled, and  
          BOE deciding one.  BOE adds that no appeals are currently  
          pending.

          Current law sets a deadline for local agencies to file Section  







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          11 appeals with BOE of either July 20th, or two weeks from the  
          date the assessor delivers the property tax roll containing the  
          assessment to the auditor, usually around mid-August, whichever  
          is later.  However, this deadline is inconsistent with all other  
          assessment appeals deadlines, currently either September 15th or  
          November 30th, depending on whether the assessor mails notices  
          by certain dates.  BOE wants to set one deadline for Section 11  
          appeals to simplify administration.


           Proposed Law

           Senate Bill 1480 strikes the current deadline for appealing  
          assessments to BOE of previously taxable properties owned by  
          local government but located in other jurisdictions, and  
          replaces it with November 30th.  


           State Revenue Impact

           BOE states that SB 1480 has no impact on state or local  
          revenues.  






           Comments

           1.  Purpose of the bill  .  SB 1480 changes the deadline for  
          Section 11 appeals to November 30th from the current dual  
          deadline of either July 20th, or two weeks from the date the  
          assessor delivers the property tax roll.  The revised deadline  
          is familiar, as it's the same as those for taxpayers filing  
          appeals.  Additionally, a later deadline will give the local  
          agency more time to decide whether to appeal. 

          2.   Committee Bill  .  Senate Rule 23 requires all members of the  
          Committee to sign Committee Bills prior to introduction, so SB  
          1480 must have universal agreement; should anyone object to a  
          provision in the measure, it will be removed.










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           Support and  
          Opposition   (4/12/16)


           Support  :  Board of Equalization.


           Opposition  :  None received.



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