BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   AB 157|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 157
          Author:   Anderson (R), et al
          Amended:  8/17/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE REVENUE & TAXATION COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 7/1/10
          AYES:  Wolk, Walters, Alquist, Ashburn, Padilla
           
          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 6/2/09 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote


           SUBJECT  :    Property taxation:  transfer of base year value

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill allows San Diego County to extend the  
          period for taxpayers to transfer base year values for  
          disaster-affected property.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law (California Constitution)  
          required the Legislature to allow taxpayers to transfer the  
          base-year value of property that is substantially damaged  
          or destroyed by a disaster, as declared by the Governor, to  
          comparable property within the same county that is acquired  
          or newly constructed as a replacement for the substantially  
          damaged or destroyed property (Proposition 50, 1986).   
          Existing law implements this constitutional requirement,  
          but limits the transfer of base-year value to replacement  
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          property acquired or newly constructed within the same  
          county to five years after the disaster (to the extent that  
          the replacement property does not exceed 120 percent of the  
          fair market value of the old property immediately prior to  
          the disaster).  In 2006, the Legislature extended the  
          deadline from three to five years for disasters occurring  
          on or after July 1, 2003 (AB 1890 [Mountjoy], Chapter 317,  
          Statutes of 2006).  The deadline applies only when the  
          taxpayer acquires a new property or rebuilds in a different  
          location than the site of the disaster; taxpayers may  
          retain the base-year transfer an unlimited amount of time  
          to retaining the base-year value when rebuilding on the  
          site of the disaster because the Constitution exempts real  
          property that is reconstructed after a disaster from the  
          definition of "new construction" requiring reassessment.

          Existing law (California Constitution) allows similar  
          treatment for taxpayers seeking to transfer their base-year  
          value to a replacement property acquired or newly  
          constructed in a different county for three years.  

          This bill allows the board of supervisors of San Diego  
          County to enact an ordinance to extend the five year period  
          by two years to transfer the base year value from property  
          that is substantially damaged or destroyed by the Cedar  
          Fire that commenced in October 2003, to a replacement  
          property in the same county.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/17/10)

          Board of Equalization
          California Association of Realtors
          Cedar Fire Rebuilding Resource Group
          La Mesa Chamber of Commerce
          Lakeside Chamber of Commerce
          Neptune Society
          Ramona Fire Recovery Center
          RB United
          San Diego Association of Realtors
          San Diego County Board of Supervisors
          San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce







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          San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District
          Telophase Cremation Society
          United Policyholders


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author states, "Assembly Bill  
          157 is a disaster relief bill that would extend the  
          timeframe for survivors of the devastating 2003 Cedar Fire  
          to replace their fire-destroyed properties."  The author  
          goes on to state, "Nothing will ever be the same again for  
          survivors of these catastrophic fire events, but we can  
          help.  The time it takes to rebuild homes and lives cannot  
          be underestimated, and for many, restoration is an ongoing  
          challenge.  Even now, property owners struggle to resolve  
          the necessary but time-consuming issues surrounding the  
          replacement of their [homes].  I introduced Assembly Bill  
          157 as a simple way to ensure a realistic timetable for  
          addressing the losses that survivors have suffered." 

          Proponents state, "Resolving compensation issues with an  
          insurer after a disaster damages or destroys an  
          individual's home can sometimes be a very protracted  
          process.  AB 157 recognizes this fact and, as a result,  
          proposes to extend the period of time within which a  
          homeowner can transfer the property tax base year value to  
          a replacement property an additional two years." 


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Tom  
            Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield, Brownley, Buchanan,  
            Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway,  
            Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Duvall,  
            Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,  
            Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,  
            Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,  
            Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie  
            Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,  
            Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,  
            Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,  
            Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,  
            Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bill Berryhill, Block, Hall, Bass








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          DLW:mw  8/17/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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