BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 822|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 822
Author: Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee
Amended: 8/31/09
Vote: 21
SENATE REVENUE & TAXATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/22/09
AYES: Wolk, Walters, Alquist, Ashburn, Florez, Padilla,
Runner, Wiggins
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 36-0, 5/11/09 (Consent)
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Cogdill, Corbett,
Correa, Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Dutton, Florez,
Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu,
Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla,
Pavley, Romero, Runner, Steinberg, Strickland, Walters,
Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Cedillo, Simitian
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 9/2/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Property taxation
SOURCE : California Assessors Association
DIGEST : This bill makes several changes to the property
tax law relating to: (1) scale copies in electronic format,
(2) increase in real property exemption amount, (3)
disabled veterans property tax exemption data, (4)
CONTINUED
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signatures on property statements, (5) property tax forms,
and (6) separate assessment for subdivision parcels.
Assembly Amendments authorizes a property owner to complete
a property statement that is substantially similar to the
property statement printed by the assessor, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires that when a taxpayer
files an approved set of building plans with the city,
county, or city and county, he or she shall also send a
scale copy to the assessor. The scale copy shall be in
sufficient detail for the assessor to determine the square
footage of the building and the intended use of each room.
The law does not proscribe a format for the scale copy.
This bill allows a taxpayer to submit a scale copy in
either paper or electronic format.
Existing law allows county boards of supervisors to enact
an ordinance exempting from the property tax any real or
personal property which has a value so low that the total
taxes received is less than the costs of assessment and
collection. However, counties cannot exempt property with
a value that exceeds $5,000, except for specified
possessory interests. Counties must determine the
exemption level by calculating costs, and apply the
exemption uniformly for different classes of property.
This bill increases the minimum amount from $5,000 to
$10,000, accounting for assessment cost changes since the
Legislature raised the $5,000 cap in 1996.
Existing law provides a disabled veterans' property tax
exemption of $111,276 or $166,944, depending on income.
Taxpayers claiming the disabled veterans' property tax
exclusion must occupy the home in which they claim the
exemption.
This bill provides that assessors shall supply the BOE with
information from disabled veterans' property tax exemption
claims and county records upon written request. The bill
states that sharing information helps to prevent
duplication of the exemption and improper overlapping with
other benefits. BOE may specify that information include
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all or part of names and social security numbers of
claimants and spouse and the identity and location of the
dwelling to which the exemption applies. BOE may require
the information to be in the form of data-processing media.
Existing law requires taxpayers that meet certain criteria
to file a signed property statement with the county
assessor. Existing law authorizes a taxpayer, in lieu of
completing the property statement as printed by the
assessor, to furnish the information required as
attachments to the property statement, provided that one
copy of the property statement is signed by the taxpayer
and contains an appropriate reference to the data attached,
or the property statement is filed electronically and
authenticated, as specified.
This bill authorizes a taxpayer to complete a property
statement that is substantially similar to the property
statement as printed by the assessor, as provided, in lieu
of completing the property statement as printed by the
assessor, and would authorize the assessor to consider the
information provided by the taxpayer, in lieu of completing
the property statement as printed by the assessor, as the
property statement.
Existing law prohibits the county assessor from making a
separate valuation for a parcel covered by a subdivision
map filed for record after the lien date immediately
preceding the prior fiscal year, which can result in some
lots created after January 1st taking 18 months to appear
on the assessment roll when nearby lots are newly
constructed or change ownership.
This bill allows a county board of supervisors to enact an
ordinance providing for a separate valuation of parcels by
majority vote.
Comments
This bill is a technical, non-controversial bill that
improves local administration of property tax laws for the
benefit of taxpayers and assessors alike. Consolidating
the bills into a single bill negates the need for
individual bills to enact each change. Additionally, the
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bill only contains items with universal agreement; items
that are controversial or problematic will be removed from
the bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
BOE estimates possible negligible revenue gains to local
agencies resulting from exempting properties from property
tax where the total taxes fall below the costs of
assessment and collection.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/3/09)
California Assessors' Association (source)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, 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, Hall, 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, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Buchanan
DLW:nl 9/3/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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