BILL ANALYSIS
SB 822
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 822 (Wolk)
As Amended August 31, 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.
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
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veterans' property tax exemption claims within the state for the
same homeowners.
4)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.
5)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 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.
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4)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.
5)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 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: 0002678