BILL NUMBER: AB 1957 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 15, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gordon
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
An act to amend Sections 27000.8 and 27000.9 of the
Government Code, and to amend Sections 2610 and
, 3702 , and 5151 of, and to add
Section 3354 to, the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1957, as amended, Gordon. Tax collector: publication
of notice. collection.
Existing law requires a county treasurer, whether elected or
appointed, to complete a valid continuing course of study, on or
before June 30 of each 2-year period, and to provide certification of
completion of that course to the Controller. The continuing
education program is required to consist of, at a minimum, 24 hours
or an equivalent amount of continuing education units within the
discipline of treasury management, public finance, public
administration, governmental accounting, or directly related
subjects, as specified.
This bill would additionally require the continuing education
course to include tax collection in the continuing education
disciplines described above.
Existing law requires a tax collector to publish notice of due and
delinquency dates, penalties, and payment options, on or before the
day when taxes are payable to the tax collector. Existing law also
requires a tax collector to publish notice of an impending default,
power and intent of collector, an affidavit of collector, a
delinquent list, and an intended sale. Existing law requires the
notices to be published in a newspaper, as specified.
This bill would allow the board of supervisors to pass a
resolution allowing the tax collector to post notices on the tax
collector's regularly maintained Internet Web site, provided that the
tax collector also publishes in a newspaper, as specified, a
shortened publication stating the tax collector's general Internet
Web site, the specific Internet address at which the notice may be
viewed, and the location of public access computer terminals that may
be used to view the notice.
Existing property tax law requires the payment of interest on
property tax refunds at the greater of 3% per annum or the county
pool apportioned rate.
This bill would eliminate the requirement of the payment of
interest on those refunds at 3% per annum and would instead require
payment at the county pool apportioned rate, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 27000.8 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
27000.8. Any duly elected county treasurer, county tax collector,
or county treasurer-tax collector serving in that office on January
1, 1996, may serve for his or her remaining term of office during
which period of time the requirements of this section shall not
apply. After the election of a county treasurer, county tax
collector, or county treasurer-tax collector to office, that person
shall complete a valid continuing course of study as prescribed in
this section, and shall during the person's four-year term of office
on or before June 30 of the fourth year, render to the State
Controller a certification indicating that the person has
successfully completed a continuing education program consisting of,
at a minimum, 48 hours, or an equivalent amount of continuing
education units within the discipline of treasury management,
tax collection, public finance, public administration,
governmental accounting, or directly related subjects, offered by a
recognized state or national association, institute, or accredited
college or university, or the California Debt and Investment Advisory
Commission, that provides the requisite educational programs
prescribed in this section. The willful or negligent failure of any
elected county treasurer, county tax collector, or county
treasurer-tax collector to comply with the requirements of this
section shall be deemed a violation of this section.
SEC. 2. Section 27000.9 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
27000.9. Notwithstanding any other requirement of law, any duly
appointed county officer serving in the capacity of county treasurer,
county tax collector, or county treasurer-tax collector shall,
beginning in 2000, complete a valid continuing course of study as
prescribed in this section, and shall, on or before June 30 of each
two-year period, render to the State Controller, a
certification indicating that the county officer has successfully
completed a continuing education program consisting of, at a minimum,
24 hours or an equivalent amount of continuing education units
within the discipline of treasury management, tax collection,
public finance, public administration, governmental accounting,
or directly related subjects, offered by a recognized state or
national association, institute, or accredited college or university,
or the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, that
provides the requisite educational programs prescribed in this
section. The willful or negligent failure of any county officer
serving in the capacity of county treasurer, county tax collector, or
county treasurer-tax collector to comply with the requirements of
this section shall be deemed a violation of this section.
SECTION 1. SEC. 3. Section 2610 of
the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read:
2610. (a) The notice shall be published once a week for two weeks
in a newspaper, if there is one published in the county, or, if
none, by posting it in three public places in each township.
(b) Upon resolution by the board of supervisors, the notice may
instead be posted to the tax collector's regularly maintained
Internet Web site. If posted on the Internet Web site, the tax
collector shall publish in a newspaper, as required by subdivision
(a), a shortened publication stating that the notice is available at
the tax collector's Internet Web site and provide both the general
Internet Web site address for the tax collector and the specific
Internet address at which the notice may be viewed. The shortened
publication shall also include information as to the location of
public access computer terminals upon which the notice may be viewed.
SEC. 2. SEC. 4. Section 3354 is
added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:
3354. Upon resolution by the board of supervisors, any notice
that is required by this chapter to be published by the tax collector
in any newspaper may instead be posted to the tax collector's
regularly maintained Internet Web site. If posted on the Internet Web
site, the tax collector shall publish in a newspaper, as required by
Section 6063 of the Government Code, a shortened publication stating
that the notice is available at the tax collector's Internet Web
site and provide both the general Internet Web site address for the
tax collector and the specific Internet address at which the notice
may be viewed. The shortened publication shall also include
information as to the location of public access computer terminals
upon which the notice may be viewed.
SEC. 3. SEC. 5. Section 3702 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read:
3702. (a) The tax collector shall publish the notice of intended
sale once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation published in the county seat and in a newspaper of
general circulation published in the judicial district in which the
property is situated. If the same newspaper of general circulation is
published in both the county seat and in such district, or if the
publication of the notice of sale is made in a newspaper which is
determined pursuant to Section 3381 as most likely to afford adequate
notice of the sale, a publication in such paper shall satisfy the
requirements for publication set forth in this section. If there is
no newspaper published in the county seat or in the judicial
district, then publication may be made by posting notice in three
public places in the county seat or in the judicial district, as the
case may be, where no such newspaper is published. The publication
shall be started not less than 21 days prior to the date of the sale.
(b) Upon resolution by the board of supervisors, the notice may
instead be posted to the tax collector's regularly maintained
Internet Web site. If posted on the Internet Web site, the tax
collector shall publish in a newspaper, as required by subdivision
(a), a shortened publication stating that the notice is available at
the tax collector's Internet Web site and provide both the general
Internet Web site address for the tax collector and the specific
Internet address at which the notice may be viewed. The shortened
publication shall also include information as to the location of
public access computer terminals upon which the notice may be viewed.
SEC. 6. Section 5151 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code is amended to read:
5151. (a) Interest at the greater of 3 percent per annum
or the county pool apportioned rate shall be paid, when
that interest is ten dollars ($10) or more, on any amount refunded
under Section 5096.7, or refunded to a taxpayer for any reason
whatsoever. However, no interest shall be paid under the provisions
of this section if the taxpayer has been given the notice required by
Section 2635 and has failed to apply for the refund within 30 days
after the mailing of that notice. For purposes of this section,
"county pool apportioned rate" means the annualized rate of interest
earned on the total amount of pooled idle funds from all accounts
held by the county treasurer, in excess of the county treasurer's
administrative costs with respect to that amount, as of June 30 of
the fiscal year preceding the date the refund is calculated by the
auditor. For each fiscal year, the county treasurer shall advise the
Controller of the county pool apportioned rate, and of computations
made in deriving that rate, no later than 60 days after the end of
that fiscal year. Any interest paid on a refund at a rate provided
for by this subdivision as it read prior to January 1, 2009, shall be
deemed to be correct.
(b) The interest rate provided for in subdivision (a) does not
apply to interest on refunds of those amounts of tax that became due
and payable before March 1, 1993. Interest on refunds of amounts of a
qualified tax shall be paid at that rate provided for by this
section as it read prior to January 1, 1993. As used in this section,
a "qualified tax" means a tax that became due and payable before
March 1, 1993, and had not been refunded as of April 6, 1995. This
subdivision shall not be construed to affect the interest paid on
refunds of those amounts of tax that became due and payable before
March 1, 1993, and have been refunded as of April 6, 1995.
(c) (1) The interest computation period shall commence with the
date of payment of the tax when any of the following applies:
(A) A timely application for reduction in an assessment was filed,
without regard to whether the refund ultimately results from a
judgment or order of a court, an order of a board of equalization or
assessment appeals board, or an assessor's correction to the
assessment roll.
(B) The refund is pursuant to a roll correction resulting from the
determination or adjustment by the assessor or a local assessment
appeals board of a base year value.
(C) The refund results from a correction to the assessment roll
pursuant to Section 4831 or 4876.
(2) Interest on refunds of taxes on property acquired by a public
agency in eminent domain shall accrue from the date of recordation of
the deed.
(3) In all other cases the interest computation period shall
commence on the date of filing a claim for refund or payment of the
tax, whichever is later. However, in the event of the granting of
property tax relief pursuant to Section 69, 69.3, or 170, interest is
not payable on any resulting refund of taxes, provided that payment
of that refund of taxes is made within 120 days after the county
assessor has sent authorization for the reduction to the county
auditor.
(d) The computation of interest shall terminate as of a date
within 30 days of the date of mailing or personal delivery of the
refund payment.
(e) The interest charged shall be apportioned to the appropriate
funds, as determined by the county auditor.
(f) The amendments made to this section by Section 4 of Chapter
801 of the Statutes of 1996 shall apply to all refunds made after
January 1, 1997.