BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 143|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 143
Author: Jeffries (R)
Amended: 6/24/09 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE REVENUE & TAXATION COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/10/09
AYES: Wolk, Alquist, Ashburn, Florez, Padilla, Runner,
Wiggins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 4/16/09 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Property taxation: replicated tax payments:
returns
SOURCE : California Association of County Treasurers and
Tax
Collectors
DIGEST : This bill allows property owners to direct tax
collectors to refund non-owner property tax payments.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires taxpayers to make
property tax payments for the secured roll by December 10th
and April 10th of each year, after which interest and
penalties apply. When counties receive a property tax
payment indicated for a property where tax has already been
CONTINUED
AB 143
Page
2
paid, they keep the first payment, and must return the
replicated tax payment within 60 days or interest applies.
Existing law (Code of Civil Procedure) allows a right of
adverse possession, where a person can claim title to a
piece of land without written title, a practice of Anglo
Saxon common law meant to punish vacant landlords for
failing to put land to economic use. Individuals may
establish adverse possession when occupying land openly and
without objection from the owner. To establish adverse
possession, the property must be protected by substantial
enclosure, and usually cultivated and improved. Current
law states that a person can only establish adverse
possession if he/she occupied the land for five years, and
paid all the state, county, and municipal taxes.
This bill allows an owner of record to instruct the tax
collector in writing to refund a replicate payment to the
tendering party who is not an owner of record if the
tendering party is known at the time of the request. The
written request must be accompanied by a copy of a
certified deed, judgment, or other instrument that legally
verified ownership of the property. This bill provides
that the tax collector shall not be required to determine
the property's ownership. This bill also makes legislative
findings and declarations stating that the intent of this
measure is to address issues of adverse possession, and
that the bill seeks to establish a clear and simplified
system for the return of replicated payments by authorizing
tax collectors to return payments to non-owning tendering
parties.
Prior legislation . This bill is similar to AB 1959
(Jeffries), 2007-08 Session, which the Senate Revenue and
Taxation Committee unanimously approved last year. After
being approved by the Senate, the Assembly did not take up
the bill for concurrence in Senate Amendments before the
end of the legislative session.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/26/09)
California Association of County Treasurers and Tax
AB 143
Page
3
Collectors (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
"AB 143 will remedy a little-known yet serious problem.
Adverse possession is the process by which a third party
attempts to claim the property of the rightful owner
through open and hostile means. In California, adverse
possession requires, among other things, hostile and
notorious possession of another's land along with paying
property taxes on that parcel for five years.
"In cases where a county tax collector receives two
property tax payments- one from the rightful owner and
one from the adverse possessor- there is often confusion
as to how to proceed. Currently, county tax collectors
are not authorized by statute to return a duplicate
property tax payment made by a hostile third party. In
cases where multiple property tax payments are received,
county tax collectors are often only allowed to retain
both payments, which then gives legitimacy to an adverse
possessor's payment and claim. Often the only way the
rightful property owner can rectify this situation is
through costly litigation and lawsuits against the
adverse possessor, which, of course, can take many years.
"[This bill] will rectify and clarify this grey-area in
the law by authorizing county tax collectors to return a
hostile property tax payment to the non-rightful payer,
thereby solving this issue without having to constantly
resort to lengthy and costly litigation."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Carter, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
AB 143
Page
4
Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio,
Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Chesbro, De La Torre, Fuller, Huber, Mendoza,
Nava, Skinner
DLW:mw 6/28/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****