BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 946|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 946
Author: Butler (D)
Amended: 7/12/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SUBJECT : Property tax administration: loan program
SOURCE : California Assessors Association
DIGEST : This bill reauthorizes the State-County Property
Tax Administration Loan Program to allow eligible counties
to receive new loans in updated amounts for fiscal years
2011-12 until 2015-16. This bill also requires the
California Assessors' Association to report to the
legislature.
Senate Floor Amendments of 7/12/11 delete the prior version
of the bill, and instead insert provisions to reenact the
State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program.
ANALYSIS : The Legislature enacted the State-County
Property Tax Administration Loan Program in 1995 to ensure
that counties have sufficient resources in the Assessor's
Office to assess the value of properties, and therefore
collect future property taxes (AB 818, Vasconcellos,
Chapter 914, Statutes of 1995). Because local property
taxes are the first source of revenue for schools, more
property tax revenue reduces state general fund obligations
CONTINUED
AB 946
Page
2
to fund schools under Proposition 98. Additionally, county
assessors' offices had been subject to severe budget cuts
resulting from the Legislature shifting property tax
revenues from counties to the Education Revenue
Augmentation Fund shifts in the 1992-93 and 1993-94 fiscal
years, and didn't have the resources to assess all property
that had been newly constructed or changed ownership. The
Program provided loans in specified amounts to counties for
fiscal years 1995-96 until 2001-02, which repaid them at
the end of the year out of the enhanced revenues produced
by the additional assessment resources provided by the
loans.
This bill reauthorizes the State-County Property Tax
Administration Program to allow eligible counties to
participate in the program to receive new loans in updated
amounts for fiscal years 2011-12 until 2015-16. This bill
revises the contents of the agreement between counties and
the Department of Finance, which administers the program,
and requires the California Assessors' Association to
summarize reports required by individual counties. This
bill also deletes obsolete provisions from the existing
statute.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/13/11)
California Assessors' Association (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
without funding from the State, collectable property tax
revenue far in excess of the $60 million allocated 10 years
ago by Property Tax Administrative Program (PTAP) will
remain uncollected. Over time, the impact of reduced
funding for Assessors' offices are compounding and
California's property tax administration is returning to
the chaos of the early 1990's when County Assessors had
billions of dollars of "unworked assessments." As always,
the time and cost to resolve these backlogs far exceeds the
cost of timely enrollment. Moreover they are not just
leaving revenue uncollected it is also creating problems
for property owners who are faced with paying property tax
AB 946
Page
3
bills for multiple years.
AGB:nl 7/13/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****