BILL ANALYSIS
SB 822
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 822 (Revenue & Taxation Committee)
As Amended June 23, 2009
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :36-0
REVENUE & TAXATION 9-0 LOCAL GOVERNMENT 7-0
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|Ayes:|Charles Calderon, DeVore, |Ayes:|Caballero, Knight, |
| |Beall, Coto, Harkey, Ma, | |Arambula, Davis, Duvall, |
| |Hagman, Portantino, | |Krekorian, Skinner |
| |Saldana | | |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen, | | |
| |Ammiano, | | |
| |Charles Calderon, Coto, | | |
| |Davis, Duvall, Fuentes, | | |
| |Hall, Harkey, Miller, | | |
| |John A. Perez, Skinner, | | |
| |Solorio, Audra | | |
| |Strickland, Torlakson | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Makes various non-controversial changes to the
administrative provisions of the property tax law.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows a property owner, at the time he/she files an approved
building plan with the city or county, to submit a scale copy
of floor plans and exterior dimensions of the building to the
local assessor in either a paper or an electronic format.
2)Increases from $5,000 to $10,000 the maximum amount of the
"low-value ordinance" exemption that may be granted by each
county board of supervisors to real or personal property
qualified for that exemption.
SB 822
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3)Requires county assessors to supply information from disabled
veterans' property tax exemption claims and county records to
the State Board of Equalizations (BOE), as specified by BOE's
written request, in order to prevent approvals of multiple
disabled veterans' property tax exemption claims within the
state for the same homeowners.
4)Deletes, in the case of a corporate owner of property, a
requirement that the employee or agent who signs the property
statement be designated in writing by the corporation's board
of directors.
5)Deletes a requirement that a property owner sign a copy of the
property statement printed and mailed by the assessor to the
property owner, and instead, authorizes a property owner to
complete a property statement that is substantially similar to
the property statement printed by the assessor, as specified.
6)Allows a county assessor to make a separate valuation of a
parcel covered by a subdivision map filed for record after the
lien date immediately preceding the current fiscal year, but
only if the board of supervisors of that county enacts an
ordinance, by majority vote, providing for a separate
valuation of parcels.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires assessors to assess all new construction that occurs
within their county for property tax purposes. Revenue and
Taxation Code (RT&C) Section 72 requires city and county
building departments to provide the local county assessor with
a copy of all building permits issued. R&TC Section 72 also
requires property owners to file with the local assessor a
scale copy of floor plans and exterior dimensions designated
for the assessor's use.
2)Provides that all property is taxable unless otherwise
exempted by the California Constitution or federal law
[Article XIII A, Section 1(a), California Constitution].
Pursuant to Section 7 of Article XIII of the California
Constitution, the Legislature enacted RT&C Section 155.20 to
authorize a county board of supervisors to exempt from
property tax those real and personal properties having a full
value too low to justify the costs of assessment and
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collection. It also limits this exemption, which is referred
to as the "low-value ordinance" exemption, granted by each
county board of supervisors to property with a value not
exceeding $5,000, except that in the case of a possessory
interest in specified facilities, the limit is increased to
$50,000.
3)Authorizes the exemption from property taxation of the
principal residence of a qualified disabled veteran, or
his/her surviving spouse, in the case where a person has, as a
result of a service-related disease or injury, becomes
disabled or died while on active duty in military service.
The amount of exemption, which is automatically indexed each
year, depends upon the claimant's income. BOE currently
maintains a database to monitor claims for the homeowners'
exemption, but not the disabled veterans' exemption.
4)Imposes an ad valorem tax on all assessable personal property
used in a trade or business at the fair market value of that
property. Requires taxpayers to report the cost of their
property holdings to the local county assessor on a business
property statement that shows all taxable property, both real
and personal, owned or managed by the person filing the
statement. In the case of a corporate owner of property, a
business property statement must be signed either by an
officer of the corporation or an employee or agent who has
been designated in writing by the board of directors.
5)Requires the county assessor to mail a property statement to
any person required to file one, in order to prompt taxpayers
to complete and file annual property statements. However, it
allows a taxpayer, in lieu of completing the property
statement as printed by the assessor, to furnish the required
information as attachments to the property statement, provided
that one copy of the statement is signed by the taxpayer and
contains an appropriate reference to the data attached.
6)Prohibits the county assessor from making a separate valuation
on any parcel covered by a subdivision map filed for record
after the lien date immediately preceding the current fiscal
year.
FISCAL EFFECT : BOE estimates that this bill will have no effect
on the amount of revenues collected by the state or local
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governments. However, BOE estimates that, for any county that
would opt to raise the low value exemption to an amount
exceeding $5,000, there would be a small cost savings equal to
the difference between the costs of assessing and billing and
the tax proceeds for properties that would qualify for the low
value property exemption only under the increased limit.
COMMENTS : SB 822 is a technical, non-controversial bill
intended to improve local administration of property tax laws
for the benefit of both taxpayers and assessors.
Related legislation. AB 3080 (Assembly Revenue and Taxation
Committee), introduced in the 2007-08 Legislative Session, was
identical to this bill. AB 3080 was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger, with the following veto message: "The historic
delay in passing the 2008-09 State Budget has forced me to
prioritize the bills sent to my desk at the end of the year's
legislative session. Given the delay, I am only signing bills
that are the highest priority for California. This bill does
not meet that standard and I cannot sign it at this time."
Analysis Prepared by : Oksana Jaffe / REV. & TAX. / (916)
319-2098
FN: 0002119