Senate BillNo. 1021


Introduced by Senator Wolk

February 14, 2014


An act to amend Section 50079 of the Government Code, relating to taxation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1021, as introduced, Wolk. School districts: parcel taxes.

Existing law authorizes any school district to impose qualified special taxes within the district pursuant to specified procedures. Existing law defines” qualified special taxes” as special taxes that apply uniformly to all taxpayers or all real property within the school district and may exempt certain persons.

This bill would provide that special taxes that apply uniformly include any special tax imposed on a per parcel basis, according to the square footage of a parcel or the square footage of improvements on a parcel, according to the use of a parcel, and at a lower rate on unimproved property. This bill would authorize a school district to treat multiple parcels of real property as one parcel of real property for purposes of a qualified special tax, where the parcels are contiguous, under common ownership, and constitute one economic unit.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

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

P1    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 50079 of the Government Code is
2amended to read:

3

50079.  

(a) Subject to Section 4 of Article XIII A of the
4California Constitution, any school district may impose qualified
P2    1special taxes within the district pursuant to the procedures
2established in Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 50075) and
3any other applicable procedures provided by law.

4(b) begin delete(1)end deletebegin deleteend deletebegin deleteAs used in this section, “qualified special end deletebegin insertFor purposes
5of this section, all of the following shall apply:end insert

6begin insert (1)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insert“Qualified specialend insert taxes” means special taxes that apply
7uniformly to all taxpayers or all real property within the school
8district, except that “qualified special taxes” may include taxes
9that provide for an exemption from those taxes for all of the
10following taxpayers:

11(A) Persons who are 65 years of age or older.

12(B) Persons receiving Supplemental Security Income for a
13disability, regardless of age.

14(C) Persons receiving Social Security Disability Insurance
15benefits, regardless of age, whose yearly income does not exceed
16250 percent of the 2012 federal poverty guidelines issued by the
17United States Department of Health and Human Services.

18(2) “Qualified special taxes” do not include special taxes
19imposed on a particular class of property or taxpayers.

begin insert

20(3) “Special taxes that apply uniformly” include any special
21tax imposed in accordance with any of the following:

end insert
begin insert

22(A) On a per parcel basis.

end insert
begin insert

23(B) According to the square footage of a parcel or the square
24footage of improvements on a parcel.

end insert
begin insert

25(C) According to the use of a parcel, so long as the same tax is
26levied on all properties of the same use.

end insert
begin insert

27(D) At a lower rate on unimproved property.

end insert
begin insert

28(c) A school district may treat multiple parcels of real property
29as one parcel of real property for purposes of a qualified special
30tax where the parcels are contiguous, under common ownership,
31and constitute one economic unit, meaning that the multiple parcels
32of real property have the same primary purpose and are not
33separate and distinct properties that may be independently
34developed and sold.

end insert
35

SEC. 2.  

No inference shall be drawn from the enactment of
36this act with respect to the meaning of “uniformly” for purposes
37of special taxes imposed by school districts pursuant to the
P3    1authorization in Section 50079 of the Government Code as it
2existed prior to the enactment of this act.



O

    99