BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2136
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Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
AB 2136 (V. Manuel Perez) - As Amended: April 27, 2010
SUBJECT : Disaster relief: County of Imperial earthquake.
SUMMARY : Allows special tax treatment for losses sustained as a
result of the earthquake that occurred on April 4, 2010, in
Imperial County. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides reimbursement for property tax losses resulting from
the reassessment of properties damaged by the April 2010
earthquake in Imperial County.
2)Requires, by October 30, 2010, the auditor of Imperial County
to certify to the Director
of Finance an estimate for the total amount of the reduction in
property tax revenues resulting from the reassessment of
properties impacted by the April 2010 earthquake.
3)Requires the Director of Finance, within 30 days after
verification of the county auditor's property tax estimate, to
certify the amount to the State Controller for allocation to
the County for reimbursement in property tax loss.
4)Provides that any dwelling that qualified for a homeowners'
property tax exemption before the April 2010 earthquake in
Imperial County, that was damaged or destroyed by that
earthquake, and that has not changed ownership since the date
of the disaster, shall not be denied a homeowners' exemption
solely because that dwelling was temporarily damaged or
destroyed, or was being reconstructed by the owner, or was
temporarily uninhabited as a result of restricted access.
5)Provides that a taxpayer's excess disaster loss shall be
carried forward to future years for any loss sustained in
Imperial County as a result of the April 2010 earthquake.
6)States the intent of the Legislature to provide in the annual
Budget Act those additional reimbursements to local
governments for the property tax revenue reductions due to the
April 2010 earthquake in Imperial County.
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7)Specifies that if the Commission on State Mandates determines
that this bill contains costs mandated by the state, local
agencies and school districts will be reimbursed for those
costs.
8)Makes findings and declarations that this act fulfills a
statewide public purpose because
of the Governor's declarations of a state of emergency, which
constituted conditions of extreme peril to public health and
safety to persons and property within Imperial County, thus
qualifying affected persons for various forms of governmental
assistance and relief.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides, under the California Disaster Assistance Act, a list
of disasters eligible for full state reimbursement of local
agency costs.
2)Provides for state reimbursement to backfill property tax
revenue loss resulting from assessment reductions in areas
that the Governor has declared to be in a state of emergency.
3)Provides for a standard homeowners' property tax exemption of
$7,000, and allows dwellings damaged in disasters declared by
the Governor to continue eligibility for the exemption.
4)Allows losses sustained because of a Governor-declared
disaster to be carried forward to each of the five taxable
years following the loss, or if the loss remains after the
five years, extends the loss for the next ten years.
5)Requires that the state share of reimbursement for local costs
due to a disaster not exceed 75% of total state eligible costs
unless the local agency is located within a city or county
that has adopted a local Hazard Mitigation Plan in accordance
with the federal Disaster Mitigation Act as part of the safety
element.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)On April 5, 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of
emergency as a result
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of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Imperial County
on April 4, 2010. Traditionally, when a disaster has occurred
in California that receives a declaration of a state of
emergency by the Governor, the state has enacted legislation
to keep counties whole with respect to any loss of property
tax revenue the local government experienced from reduced
property values from the disaster. This bill follows a
longstanding state policy of backfilling county losses
resulting from reduced property values.
2)Support Arguments : AB 2136 specifically provides that
Imperial County is eligible for reimbursement due to the loss
of property tax resulting from the lower-reassessed property
value caused by the disaster. Additionally, this bill will
allow homeowners to carry forward losses resulting from the
earthquake into future taxable years and ensures that standard
property tax deductions continue for those displaced from
their homes by the earthquake.
Opposition Arguments : Every year, both the Local Government
Committee and the Revenue and Taxation Committee hear numerous
bills related to disaster relief, for each respective disaster
that has occurred. It may make sense, instead of introducing
numerous bills each year, to instead have only one annual bill
for all disaster events, or provide for permanent disaster
relief provisions in statute, thereby, eliminating the need
for multiple bills.
3)AB 2136 is similar to AB 1662 (Portantino), AB 1690 (Chesbro),
and AB 1766 (Gaines), and other disaster bills that have
passed out of the Committee this legislative session. As
these disaster relief bills move forward, each will need to be
amended to avoid chaptering out issues.
4)Author's Amendments : Urgency amendments are before the
Committee to be adopted.
5)This bill is double-referred to the Committee on Revenue and
Taxation.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
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CA State Association of Counties
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Southern CA Association of Governments
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958