HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04252006 - C.54 I
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS sE Contra
FROM: JOHN CULLEN, I Costa
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR �` daiNN. CV
DATE: April 25, 2006 r�SrA COi tib �~ County
SUBJECT: SUPPORT AB 3039 (HOUSTON) - PROPERTY TAX RELIEF ON DISASTERS
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(Si)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
SUPPORT AB 3039 (Houston) which would allow counties to apply for state funding to offset
property tax reductions resulting from reassessment of property that was damaged or destroyed in a
governor-declared emergency.
BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION:
Existing law authorizes counties by ordinance to reassess property and provide property tax relief
to owners of homes and businesses that were damaged or destroyed by a major catastrophe. In
the event of a governor-declared state of emergency, AB 3039 would allow eligible counties to
apply for reimbursement for losses incurred from the property tax relief. AB 3039 would create
the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties that would include continuous state appropriations
for reimbursement. I
The rainstorms of December 2005 and January 2006 resulted in substantial losses of value to
individual dwelling units as well as businesses. Earthquakes and other natural and man made
disasters could occur in the future,l resulting in similar or greater damage or destruction. Property
tax relief and state reimbursement proposed under AB 3039 is a critical component to the
recovery of areas damaged by catastrophe.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: —YES SIGNATURE: /
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✓RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR _RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD MITTEE
_�PPROVE _OTHER
SIGNATURE(S):
-_—__ -_-----__—__-__--______—___—_-__--___________---------__--ACTION OF
BOARD ON oLI APPROVE AS RECOMMENDEDOTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT I AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE
AYES: NOES: SHOWN.
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: / ��{"
ATTESTED !?C t G
CONTACT: Sara Hoffman 335-1090 JOHN CULLEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS
AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
CC: County Administrator
Cathy Christian,Nielsen Merksamer(iia CAO)
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BY DEPUTY
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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE-2005--06 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL I No, 3039
Introduced by Assembl I I Member Houston
February 24,2006
An act to amend Section 16418 of the Government Code,to amend
Section 218 of, and to add Chapter 71(commencing with Section 199)
to Part 1 of Division 1 of, the Revenue and Taxation Code,relating to
disaster relief, and making an appropI nation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 3039, as introduced,Houston.IDisaster relief
(1) Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to provide
by ordinance for the reassessment Iof property that is damaged or
destroyed, without fault on the part of the assessee, by a major
misfortune or calamity, upon the application of the assessee or upon
the action of the county assessor with the board's approval. With
respect to certain counties that haveIadopted reassessment ordinances
and have been declared by the Govemor to be in a state of emergency
as a result of certain events,existing law provides for state allocations
of the estimated amounts of the reductions in property tax revenues
resulting in certain fiscal years from reassessments under those
ordinances. Existing law also continuously appropriates, without
regard to fiscal years, moneys in I the Special Fund for Economic
Uncertainties for purposes of funding state allocations for specified
disaster relief purposes. I
This bill would authorize an eligible county, as defined,to apply for
state allocations to offset property, tax revenue reductions resulting
from the reassessment of property that was damaged in a
Governor-declared emergency. This bill would make an appropriation
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AB 3039 —2 i
by continuously appropriating moneys in the Special Fund for
Economic Uncertainties for this purpose.
(2) Existing property tax law provides, pursuant to a specified
provision of the California Constitution, for a homeowners' property
tax exemption in the amount of $7, 000 of the full value of a
"dwelling," as defined.
This bill would provide that any dwelling that qualified for the
exemption and that was damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster in
a designated area declared by thel Governor to be in a state of
emergency during a specified period of time may not be denied the
exemption solely on the basis that,) as a result of that disaster, the
dwelling was temporarily damaged or destroyed or was being
reconstructed by the owner.
The California Constitution requires the Legislature, in each fiscal
year, to reimburse local governments for the revenue losses incurred
by those governments in that fiscal year as a result of the
homeowners'property tax exemption.
This bill would state the intent lof the Legislature to make this
required reimbursement in the annual Budget Act.
(3) By requiring local tax officials to implement new criteria under
the homeowners' exemption, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.
Statutory provisions establish I procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes, Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes..
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION 1, Section 16418 of the Government Code is
2 amended to read:
3 16418. (a) The Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties is
4 hereby created in the State Treasury and is continuously
5 appropriated for the purposes of this section. The contingency
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1 reserve for economic uncertainties established within the General
2 Fund by Section 12.3 of the ;Budget Act of 1980 is hereby
3 discontinued, and any balance in that reserve shall be transferred
4 to the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties. This special
5 fund represents a reserve fund within the meaning of Section 5 of
6 Article XIII B of the California Constitution. Notwithstanding
7 Sections 16310 and 16314, the Controller may transfer as
8 necessary from the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties or
9 from the special accounts in the General Fund to the General
10 Fund such amounts as are needed to meet cash needs of the
11 General Fund. The Controller shall return all such moneys so
12 transferred without payment of interest as soon as there are
13 sufficient moneys in the General Fund.
14 (b) The Controller shall transfer from the Special Fund for
15 Economic Uncertainties to the unappropriated balance of the
16 General Fund an amount necessary to eliminate any General
17 Fund deficit as of the end of each fiscal year, commencing as of
18 June 30, 1985. The amount ofltransfer for each fiscal year shall
19 be determined on the basis of the State of California Preliminary
20 Annual Report--Accrual Basis, for such fiscal year. Any
21 subsequent adjustments shall be determined jointly by the
22 Controller and the Director of Finance.
23 (c) Notwithstanding Section 13340, moneys in the Special
24 Fund for Economic Uncertainties is hereby continuously
25 appropriated without regard to fiscal years to the Director of
26 Finance for the purpose of allocating funds for disaster relief
27 pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 194) and
28 Chapter 6(commencing with Section 197)of Part 1 of Division 1
29 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and for making allocations to
30 counties pursuant to Chapter 17 (commencing with Section 199)
31 of Part I of Division I of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
32 However, any allocation made by the director pursuant to this
33 subdivision shall not be made sooner than 30 days after
34 notification, in writing, of the necessity therefor-is provided to
35 the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
36 (d) For budgeting and accounting purposes,any appropriations
37 heretofore or hereafter made specifically from the Special Fund
38 for Economic Uncertainties, other than appropriations contained
39 in this section, shall be deemed an appropriation from the
40 General Fund. For year-end reporting purposes, the Controller
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AB 3039 —4-L
1 shall add the balance in the Special Fund for Economic
2 Uncertainties to the balance in the General Fund so as to show
3 the total moneys then available for General Fund purposes.
4 (e) Notwithstanding Section 13340, there is hereby
5 appropriated from the General Fund, without regard to fiscal
6 years, for transfer by the Controller to the Special Fund for
7 Economic Uncertainties as of Ithe end of each fiscal year, the
8 lesser of the following amount:
9 (1) The unencumbered balance in the General Fund.
10 (2) The difference between the state's "appropriations subject
11 to limitation" for the fiscal year'then ended and its"appropriation
12 limit" as defined in Section 8 of Article XIII B of the California
13 Constitution and established in the Budget Act for that fiscal
14 year, as jointly estimated by the Legislative Analyst's office and
15 the Department of Finance.
16 SEC. 2. Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 199) is added
17 to Part I of Division 1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, to
18 read:
19
20 CHAPTER 7. EMERGENCY PROPERTY TAX REASSESSMENT
21 REIMBURSEMENT R
22
23 199. For purposes of this chapter, all of the following apply:
24 (a) "Basic state aid school district" means any school district
25 that does not receive a state apportionment pursuant to
26 subdivision (h) of Section 42238 of the Education Code, but
27 receives from the state only a basic apportionment pursuant to
28 Section 6 of Article IX of the California Constitution.
29 (b) "Certification date" shall be established by the Director of
30 Finance as a reasonable I amount of time after the
31 Governor-declared state of emergency by which a county auditor
32 may reasonably certify the estimate described in subdivision (a)
33 of Section 199.1.
34 (c) "Eligible county" has the same meaning as specified in
35 subdivision(a) of Section 194
36 (d) "Reimbursement date' shall be established by the
37 Controller as a reasonable amount of time after the allocation
38 described in subdivision (b) of Section 199.1 by which a county
39 may reasonably compute the amounts described in subdivision
40 (c)of Section 199.1.
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1 199.1. (a) On or before the certification date, the auditor of
2 an eligible county, which was the subject of the Governor's
3 Proclamation of a state of emergency, shall certify to the Director
4 of Finance an estimate of the total amount of the reduction in
5 property tax revenues on both the regular secured roll and the
6 supplemental rolls for the designated period of time in which an
7 emergency was declared, resulting from the reassessment by the
8 county assessor pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
9 Section 170 of those propertics�that are eligible properties as a
10 result of that disaster, except that the amount certified shall not
11 include any estimated property tax revenue reductions to school
12 districts, other than basic state aid school districts, and county
13 offices of education.
14 (b) After the auditor of the eligible county has made the
15 certification described in subdiaision(a), the Director of Finance
16 shall, within 30 days after verification of the county auditor's
17 estimate, certify this amount to the Controller for allocation to
18 the county. Upon receipt of certification from the Director of
19 Finance, the Controller shall make the appropriate allocation to
20 the county within 10 working days.
21 (c) On or before the reimbursement date, an eligible county
22 shall compute and remit to the Controller for deposit in the
23 General Fund an amount equal to the amount allocated to it by
24 the Controller pursuant to subdivision(b), less the actual amount
25 of its property tax revenue lost on the regular secured and
26 supplemental rolls with respect to those eligible properties
27 described in subdivision (a) as a result of the reassessment of
28 those properties pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
29 Section 170, excluding any property tax revenue lost by school
30 districts, other than basic state aid school districts, and county
31 offices of education. If the actual amount of property tax revenue
32 lost by the eligible county inithe immediately preceding fiscal
33 year, as described and limited in the preceding sentence, exceeds
34 the amount allocated by the Controller to that county pursuant to
35 subdivision (b), the Controller shall allocate the amount of that
36 excess to that county.
37 SEC. 3. Section 218 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is
38 amended to read:
39 218. (a) The homeowners' property tax exemption is in the
40 amount of the assessed value of the dwelling specified in this
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AB 3039
1 section, as authorized by subdivision (k) of Section 3 of Article
2 XIII of the Constitution. That exemption shall be in the amount
3 of seven thousand dollars ($7,000) of the full value of the
4 dwelling.
5 (b) The exemption does not extend to property that is rented,
6 vacant, under construction on the lien date, or that is a vacation
7 or secondary home of the owner or owners, nor does it apply to
8 property on which an owner receives the veteran's exemption.
9 (c) For purposes of this section, all of the following apply:
10 (1) "Owner" includes a person purchasing the dwelling under
11 a contract of sale or who holds shares or membership in a
12 cooperative housing corporation, which holding is a requisite to
13 the exclusive right of occupancy,of a dwelling.
14 (2) (A) "Dwelling" means a building, structure, or other
15 shelter constituting a place of abode, whether real property or
16 personal property, and any land on which it may be situated. A
17 two-dwelling unit shall beI considered as two separate
18 single-family dwellings.
19 (B) "Dwelling" includes the following:
20 (i) A single-family dwelling occupied by an owner thereof as
21 his or her principal place of residence on the lien date.
22 (ii) A multiple-dwelling unit+occupied by an owner thereof on
23 the lien date as his or her principal place of residence.
24 (iii) A condominium occupied by an owner thereof as his or
25 her principal place of residence on the lien date.
26 (iv) Premises occupied by the owner of shares or a
27 membership interest in a cooperative housing corporation, as
28 defined in subdivision (i) of Section 61, as his or her principal
29 place of residence on the lien date. Each exemption allowed
30 pursuant to this subdivision shall be deducted from the total
31 assessed valuation of the cooperative housing corporation. The
32 exemption shall be taken into Iaccount in apportioning property
33 taxes among owners of share or membership interests in the
34 cooperative housing corporations so as to benefit those owners
35 who qualify for the exemption!
36 (d) Any dwelling that qualified for an exemption under this
37 section prior to October 20, 1991, that was damaged or destroyed
38 by fire in a disaster,as declared by the Governor,occurring on or
39 after October 20, 1991, and before November 1, 1991, and that
40 has not changed ownership since October 20, 1991, shall not be
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1 disqualified as a"dwelling"or be be denied an exemption under this
2 section solely on the basis that the dwelling was temporarily
3 damaged or destroyed or was being reconstructed by the owner.
4 (e) Any dwelling that qualified for an exemption under this
5 section prior to October 15,2003, that was damaged or destroyed
6 by fire or earthquake in a disaster, as declared by the Governor,
7 during October,November, or December 2003, and that has not
8 changed ownership since October 15, 2003, shall not be
9 disqualified as a"dwelling" or ble denied an exemption under this
10 section solely on the basis that the dwelling was temporarily
11 damaged or destroyed or was being reconstructed by the owner.
12 (f) Any dwelling that qualified for an exemption under this
13 section prior to June 3, 2004, that was damaged or destroyed by
14 flood in a disaster, as declared by the Governor, during June
15 2004, and that has not changed ownership since June 3, 2004,
16 shall not be disqualified as la "dwelling" or be denied an
17 exemption under this section solely on the basis that the dwelling
18 was temporarily damaged I or destroyed or was being
19 reconstructed by the owner.
20 (g) Any dwelling that qualified for an exemption under this
21 section prior to August 11, 2004, that was damaged or destroyed
22 by the wildfires and any other related casualty that occurred in
23 Shasta County in a disaster, as�declared by the Governor, during
24 August 2004, and that has not changed ownership since August
25 11, 2004, shall not be disqualified as a "dwelling" or be denied
26 an exemption under this section solely on the basis that the
27 dwelling was temporarily damaged or destroyed or was being
28 reconstructed by the owner. l
29 (h) Any dwelling that qualified for an exemption under this
30 section prior to December 28, 2004, that was damaged or
31 destroyed by severe rainstorms, floods, mudslides, or the
32 accumulation of debris in a disaster,as declared by the Governor,
33 during December 2004, January 2005, February 2005, March
34 2005, or June 2005, and that has not changed ownership since
35 December 28, 2004, shall not be disqualified as a "dwelling" or
36 be denied an exemption under this section solely on the basis that
37 the dwelling was temporarily damaged or destroyed or was being
38 reconstructed by the owner, of was temporarily uninhabited as a
39 result of restricted access to the property due to floods,
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AB 3039 —8
1 mudslides,the accumulation of debris,or washed out or damaged
2 roads.
3 (i) A dwelling that qualified for an exemption under this
4 section and that was damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster
5 in a designated area declared by l the Governor to be in a state of
6 emergency during a specified period of time, shall not be
7 disqualified as a "dwelling" orIbe denied an exemption under
8 this section solely on the basis that, as a result of that disaster,
9 the dwelling was temporarily damaged or destroyed or was being
10 reconstructed by the owner.
11 6) The exemption provided for in subdivision(k)of Section 3
12 of Article XIII of the Constitution shall first be applied to the
13 building,structure,or other shelter and the excess,if any, shall be
14 applied to any land on which it may be located.
15 SEC. 4. It is the intent of the Legislature to provide in the
16 annual Budget Act those additional reimbursements to local
17 governments that may, as a result of Section 3 of this act, be
18 required by Section 25 of Article XIII of the California
19 Constitution.
20 SEC. 5. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
21 this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
22 local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
23 pursuant to Part 7(commencing with Section 17500)of Division
24 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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