Senate Bill No. 921

Introduced by Senator Wright

January 28, 2014

An act to amend Section 34183 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to local government, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 921, as introduced, Wright. Local government: redevelopment: revenues from property tax override rates.

Existing law requires, from February 1, 2012, to July 1, 2012, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the county auditor-controller, after deducting administrative costs, to allocate property tax revenues in each Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund first to each local agency and school entity, as provided. Existing law requires certain revenues attributable to a tax rate levied by a taxing entity for the purpose of producing revenues in an amount sufficient to make annual repayments of the principal of, and the interest on, any bonded indebtedness for the acquisition or improvement of real property to instead be allocated to, and when collected to be paid into, the fund of that taxing entity.

This bill would clarify that any revenues derived from the imposition of a property tax rate, approved by the voters before January 1, 1948, to make payments in support of pension programs and levied in addition to the general property tax rate, be allocated to, and when collected be paid into, the fund of that taxing entity.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 34183 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

34183.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, from February 1,
2012, to July 1, 2012, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the county
auditor-controller shall, after deducting administrative costs
allowed under Section 34182 and Section 95.3 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code, allocate moneys in each Redevelopment Property
Tax Trust Fund as follows:

(1) Subject to any prior deductions required by subdivision (b),
first, the county auditor-controller shall remit from the
Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund to each local agency and
school entity an amount of property tax revenues in an amount
equal to that which would have been received under Section 33401,
33492.140, 33607, 33607.5, 33607.7, or 33676, as those sections
read on January 1, 2011, or pursuant to any passthrough agreement
between a redevelopment agency and a taxing entity that was
entered into prior to January 1, 1994, that would be in force during
that fiscal year, had the redevelopment agency existed at that time.
The amount of the payments made pursuant to this paragraph shall
be calculated solely on the basis of passthrough payment
obligations, existing prior to the effective date of this part and
continuing as obligations of successor entities, shall occur no later
than May 16, 2012, and no later than June 1, 2012, and each
January 2 and June 1 thereafter. Notwithstanding subdivision (e)
of Section 33670, that portion of the taxes in excess of the amount
identified in subdivision (a) of Section 33670, which are
attributable to a tax rate levied by a taxing entity for the purpose
of producing revenues in an amount sufficient to make annual
repayments of the principal of, and the interest on, any bonded
indebtedness for the acquisition or improvement of real property
shall be allocated to, and when collected shall be paid into, the
fund of that taxing entity. begin insert Notwithstanding any other law, any
revenues derived from the imposition of a property tax rate,
approved by the voters before January 1, 1948, to make payments
in support of pension programs and levied in addition to the
property tax role limited by subdivision ( end insert begin insert a) of Section 1 of Article
XIII end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A of the California Constitution, shall be allocated to, and
when collected shall be paid into, the fund of that taxing entity. end insert
The amount of passthrough payments computed pursuant to this
section, including any passthrough agreements, shall be computed
as though the requirement to set aside funds for the Low and
Moderate Income Housing Fund was still in effect.

(2) Second, on June 1, 2012, and each January 2 and June 1
thereafter, to each successor agency for payments listed in its
Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule for the six-month fiscal
period beginning January 1, 2012, and July 1, 2012, and each
January 2 and June 1 thereafter, in the following order of priority:

(A) Debt service payments scheduled to be made for tax
allocation bonds.

(B) Payments scheduled to be made on revenue bonds, but only
to the extent the revenues pledged for them are insufficient to make
the payments and only if the agency’s tax increment revenues were
also pledged for the repayment of the bonds.

(C) Payments scheduled for other debts and obligations listed
in the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule that are required
to be paid from former tax increment revenue.

(3) Third, on June 1, 2012, and each January 2 and June 1
thereafter, to each successor agency for the administrative cost
allowance, as defined in Section 34171, for administrative costs
set forth in an approved administrative budget for those payments
required to be paid from former tax increment revenues.

(4) Fourth, on June 1, 2012, and each January 2 and June 1
thereafter, any moneys remaining in the Redevelopment Property
Tax Trust Fund after the payments and transfers authorized by
paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, shall be distributed to local
agencies and school entities in accordance with Section 34188.

(b) If the successor agency reports, no later than April 1, 2012,
and May 1, 2012, and each December 1 and May 1 thereafter, to
the county auditor-controller that the total amount available to the
successor agency from the Redevelopment Property Tax Trust
Fund allocation to that successor agency’s Redevelopment
Obligation Retirement Fund, from other funds transferred from
each redevelopment agency, and from funds that have or will
become available through asset sales and all redevelopment
operations, are insufficient to fund the payments required by
paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) in the next
six-month fiscal period, the county auditor-controller shall notify
the Controller and the Department of Finance no later than 10 days
from the date of that notification. The county auditor-controller
shall verify whether the successor agency will have sufficient funds
from which to service debts according to the Recognized
Obligation Payment Schedule and shall report the findings to the
Controller. If the Controller concurs that there are insufficient
funds to pay required debt service, the amount of the deficiency
shall be deducted first from the amount remaining to be distributed
to taxing entities pursuant to paragraph (4) begin insert of subdivision (a) end insert , and
if that amount is exhausted, from amounts available for distribution
for administrative costs in paragraph (3) begin insert of subdivision (a) end insert . If an
agency, pursuant to the provisions of Section 33492.15, 33492.72,
33607.5, 33671.5, 33681.15, or 33688 or as expressly provided in
a passthrough agreement entered into pursuant to Section 33401,
made passthrough payment obligations subordinate to debt service
payments required for enforceable obligations, funds for servicing
bond debt may be deducted from the amounts for passthrough
payments under paragraph (1), as provided in those sections, but
only to the extent that the amounts remaining to be distributed to
taxing entities pursuant to paragraph (4) begin insert of subdivision (a) end insert and the
amounts available for distribution for administrative costs in
paragraph (3) begin insert of subdivision (a) end insert have all been exhausted.

(c) The county treasurer may loan any funds from the county
treasury to the Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund of the
successor agency for the purpose of paying an item approved on
the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule at the request of the
Department of Finance that are necessary to ensure prompt
payments of redevelopment agency debts. An enforceable
obligation is created for repayment of those loans.

(d) The Controller may recover the costs of audit and oversight
required under this part from the Redevelopment Property Tax
Trust Fund by presenting an invoice therefor to the county
auditor-controller who shall set aside sufficient funds for and
disburse the claimed amounts prior to making the next distributions
to the taxing entities pursuant to Section 34188. Subject to the
approval of the Director of Finance, the budget of the Controller
may be augmented to reflect the reimbursement, pursuant to
Section 28.00 of the Budget Act.

(e) Within 10 days of each distribution of property tax, the
county auditor-controller shall provide a report to the department
regarding the distribution for each successor agency that includes
information on the total available for allocation, the passthrough
amounts and how they were calculated, the amounts distributed
to successor agencies, and the amounts distributed to taxing entities
in a manner and form specified by the department. This reporting
requirement shall also apply to distributions required under
subdivision (b) of Section 34183.5.

SEC. 2.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to avoid underfunded public retirement systems, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.