BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 824
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 1, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

             SB 824 (Committee on Revenue and Taxation) - As Introduced:   
                                   March 10, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                             Revenue and  
          Taxation     Vote:                            9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable: Yes          

           SUMMARY  

          This bill makes mostly technical changes related to  
          administration of the property law. Specifically the bill:

          1)Deletes the requirement that BOE hold regular meetings at the  
            state capitol each month, and instead specifies that BOE must  
            meet once per quarter at the state capitol, and may hold  
            meetings at places within the state at the direction of the  
            chairperson.

          2)Specifies that taxpayers are eligible for a base-year transfer  
            on properties damaged by a governor-declared disaster if the  
            value of either the land or improvements (such as buildings)  
            are diminished in value by more than 50%. Currently the 50%  
            requirement applies to the combined value of the land and  
            improvements.

          3)Revises the filing procedures and requirements applicable to a  
            church or a nonprofit organization claiming a property tax  
            welfare exemption in the case of a property leased to public  
            schools in a shared or joint use arrangement.

          4)Expands the list of eligible lessees that may lease property  
            from a church or a non-profit organization, in accordance with  
            the requirements of the property tax welfare exemption, to  
            include public schools and the University of California. 

          5)Eliminates outdated references to the amounts for the disabled  
            veterans' exemption, which were updated in 1989, and  
            eliminates faulty cross-references in the property tax code.








                                                                  SB 824
                                                                  Page  2


          6)Deletes the existing "Preliminary Change in Ownership Report"  
            form, as it appears in the statute, and instead, requires BOE,  
            after consultation with the California Assessors' Association  
            and interested parties, to prescribe the contents of that form  
            consistent with the contents of other BOE-prescribed forms..

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)The Board of Equalization staff estimates minor local property  
            tax impact (under $10,000).

          2)The bill contains mandate language, but actual expenses to  
            local government are likely to be minor and absorbable.

           
          COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . The purpose of this bill is to make minor,  
            technical changes to the administrative provisions of the  
            property tax law.  The bill consolidates those changes into a  
            single bill to eliminate the need for individual bills.   
            According to the author, the bill contains only  
            non-controversial items, and any items that are found to be  
            controversial or problematic will be removed. 

           2)Previous legislation  . SB 1777 (Senate Committee on Revenue and  
            Taxation), introduced in the 2007-08 Legislative Session, was  
            similar to this bill.  SB 1777 was vetoed by the Governor, who  
            cited the late budget and lack of time for adequate review.
           
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081