BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 874
Author: Hancock (D)
Amended: 1/4/12
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 8-0, 1/11/12
AYES: Wolk, Huff, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe,
La Malfa, Liu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fuller
SUBJECT : School districts: community college districts:
parcel taxes:
exemptions
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows school districts to exempt
persons receiving Social Security Disability Insurance
(SSDI) from qualified special taxes.
ANALYSIS : The California Constitution bars school
districts from imposing general taxes, but allows school
districts, community college districts, and county offices
of education to issue bonded indebtedness for school
facilities with 55 percent approval (Proposition 39, 2000).
However, state law allows school districts and community
college districts to levy "qualified special taxes" with
two-thirds vote of the electorate, so long as the tax is
uniform as applied to all taxpayers. The districts may
implement the tax for as long as it wants, spend the
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proceeds for any purpose, and apply any tax rate it
chooses. To date, local agencies have only assessed parcel
taxes using this section.
Under qualified special tax law, school districts may
exempt persons over the age of 65 from the tax, as well as
persons receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
regardless of age �AB 385 (Lieber), Chapter 41, Statutes of
2006]. However, school districts cannot exempt persons
receiving SSDI from the tax.
This bill allows school districts to exempt persons
receiving SSDI from qualified special taxes.
Comments
The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers both
the SSI and SSDI programs. SSI is a federal income
supplement program paid out of general federal revenues for
persons aged, blind, disabled, and of limited income. SSDI
is funded from federal payroll taxes and provides benefits
to disabled persons because their disability serves as a
barrier to employment, but unlike SSI, eligibility is not
restricted by an individual's income, instead based on the
nature of the disability. While SSDI recipients may be
economically better off than SSI recipients, their
disability can inhibit their ability to generate income.
This bill provides parity for local parcel taxes by
allowing school districts to exempt SSDI recipients from
the tax.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 1/11/12)
Disability Rights California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 1/11/12)
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "This
bill gives school and districts options when crafting local
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taxes measures by allowing them to exempt certain disabled
property owners from a parcel tax. Individuals who are
disabled and are receiving SSDI may not be able to pay the
tax because their disability prevents or limits them from
working."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : According to the Howard Jarvis
Taxpayers Association, "This measure is deceptive. While
superficially beneficial to seniors and the disabled, in
application, it is a bait and switch scheme. Because
seniors and the disabled would have to opt-out annually -
something that most will forget to do - the real objective
of this measure is to create the appearance of an exception
as a means for additional votes in favor of tax increases."
AGB:mw 1/30/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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