Bill Text: CA SB1304 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Property taxation: disaster relief: Porter Ranch methane gas leak.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Vetoed) 2016-11-30 - Last day to consider Governor's veto pursuant to Joint Rule 58.5. [SB1304 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB1304-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1304 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 15, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 23, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Huff
(Coauthors: Senators De León, Pavley, and Runner)
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Section 170 of the Revenue and Taxation Code,
relating to taxation, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1304, Huff. Property taxation: disaster relief: Porter Ranch
methane gas leak.
Existing property tax law authorizes the board of supervisors of a
county to provide that every assessee or person liable for taxes on
any taxable property whose property was damaged or destroyed without
his or her fault may apply for reassessment of that property, as
provided. To be eligible for reassessment, existing law requires that
the damage or destruction of the property be caused by specified
circumstances, including a major misfortune or calamity in an area or
region subsequently proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of
disaster.
This bill would additionally authorize the board of supervisors of
a county to provide for reassessment of property destroyed or
damaged by a major misfortune or calamity in an area or region
subsequently proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of
emergency. The bill would specify that "damage" includes a diminution
in the value of property as a result of environmental contamination.
The bill would also provide that the amendments made by its
provisions would apply retroactively to property located in the
Porter Ranch neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles that was
affected by the methane gas leak in that area in 2015 and 2016 and
that, with respect to these properties, the application for
reassessment may be filed within 12 months of the enactment of this
bill or within the time specified in the ordinance, whichever is
later. The bill would specify that these provisions do not alter
existing law regarding claims or defenses related to diminution of
property values or establish a presumption that property values have
declined or that any property is in any way "damaged or destroyed" or
otherwise "contaminated" for purposes of a civil action related to
the methane gas leak in the Porter Ranch neighborhood.
Existing law requires the assessed value of the property in its
damaged condition, determined as specified, to be the taxable value
of the property until it is restored, repaired, reconstructed, or
other provisions of the law require the establishment of a new base
year value. Existing law, if partial reconstruction, restoration, or
repair has occurred on any subsequent lien date, requires the taxable
value to be increased by a specified amount.
This bill, for property destroyed or damaged in an area or region
proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of emergency, on the 3rd
lien date following the calamity, if partial reconstruction,
restoration, or repair is not progressing in a timely fashion, would
require the assessed value of the property to be determined, as
specified.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute for the County of Los Angeles.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 170 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended
to read:
170. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the board of supervisors,
by ordinance, may provide that every assessee of any taxable
property, or any person liable for the taxes on that property, whose
property was damaged or destroyed without his or her fault, may apply
for reassessment of that property as provided in this section. The
ordinance may also specify that the assessor may initiate the
reassessment where the assessor determines that within the preceding
12 months taxable property located in the county was damaged or
destroyed.
To be eligible for reassessment the damage or destruction to the
property shall have been caused by any of the following:
(1) A major misfortune or calamity, in an area or region
subsequently proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of emergency
or disaster, if that property was damaged or destroyed by the major
misfortune or calamity that caused the Governor to proclaim the area
or region to be in a state of emergency or disaster. As used in this
paragraph, "damage" includes a diminution in the value of property as
a result of restricted access or environmental contamination to the
property where that restricted access or environmental contamination
was caused by the major misfortune or calamity.
(2) A misfortune or calamity.
(3) A misfortune or calamity that, with respect to a possessory
interest in land owned by the state or federal government, has caused
the permit or other right to enter upon the land to be suspended or
restricted. As used in this paragraph, "misfortune or calamity"
includes a drought condition such as existed in this state in 1976
and 1977.
The application for reassessment may be filed within the time
specified in the ordinance or within 12 months of the misfortune or
calamity, whichever is later, by delivering to the assessor a written
application requesting reassessment showing the condition and value,
if any, of the property immediately after the damage or destruction,
and the dollar amount of the damage. The application shall be
executed under penalty of perjury, or if executed outside the State
of California, verified by affidavit.
An ordinance may be made applicable to a major misfortune or
calamity specified in paragraph (1) or to any misfortune or calamity
specified in paragraph (2), or to both, as the board of supervisors
determines. An ordinance shall not be made applicable to a misfortune
or calamity specified in paragraph (3), unless an ordinance making
paragraph (2) applicable is operative in the county. The ordinance
may specify a period of time within which the ordinance shall be
effective, and, if no period of time is specified, it shall remain in
effect until repealed.
(b) Upon receiving a proper application, the assessor shall
appraise the property and determine separately the full cash value of
land, improvements, and personalty immediately before and after the
damage or destruction. If the sum of the full cash values of the
land, improvements, and personalty before the damage or destruction
exceeds the sum of the values after the damage by ten thousand
dollars ($10,000) or more, the assessor shall also separately
determine the percentage reductions in value of land, improvements,
and personalty due to the damage or destruction. The assessor shall
reduce the values appearing on the assessment roll by the percentages
of damage or destruction computed pursuant to this subdivision, and
the taxes due on the property shall be adjusted as provided in
subdivision (e). However, the amount of the reduction shall not
exceed the actual loss.
(c) (1) As used in this subdivision, "board" means either the
county board of supervisors acting as the county board of
equalization, or an assessment appeals board established by the
county board of supervisors in accordance with Section 1620, as
applicable.
(2) The assessor shall notify the applicant in writing of the
amount of the proposed reassessment. The notice shall state that the
applicant may appeal the proposed reassessment to the board within
six months of the date of mailing the notice. If an appeal is
requested within the six-month period, the board shall hear and
decide the matter as if the proposed reassessment had been entered on
the roll as an assessment made outside the regular assessment
period. The decision of the board regarding the damaged value of the
property shall be final, provided that a decision of the board
regarding any reassessment made pursuant to this section shall create
no presumption as regards the value of the affected property
subsequent to the date of the damage.
(3) Those reassessed values resulting from reductions in full cash
value of amounts, as determined above, shall be forwarded to the
auditor by the assessor or the clerk of the board, as the case may
be. The auditor shall enter the reassessed values on the roll. After
being entered on the roll, those reassessed values shall not be
subject to review, except by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(d) (1) If no application is made and the assessor determines that
within the preceding 12 months a property has suffered damage caused
by misfortune or calamity that may qualify the property owner for
relief under an ordinance adopted under this section, the assessor
shall provide the last known owner of the property with an
application for reassessment. The property owner shall file the
completed application within 12 months after the occurrence of that
damage. Upon receipt of a properly completed, timely filed
application, the property shall be reassessed in the same manner as
required in subdivision (b).
(2) This subdivision does not apply where the assessor initiated
reassessment as provided in subdivision (a) or ( l ).
(e) The tax rate fixed for property on the roll on which the
property so reassessed appeared at the time of the misfortune or
calamity, shall be applied to the amount of the reassessment as
determined in accordance with this section and the assessee shall be
liable for: (1) a prorated portion of the taxes that would have been
due on the property for the current fiscal year had the misfortune or
calamity not occurred, to be determined on the basis of the number
of months in the current fiscal year prior to the misfortune or
calamity; plus, (2) a proration of the tax due on the property as
reassessed in its damaged or destroyed condition, to be determined on
the basis of the number of months in the fiscal year after the
damage or destruction, including the month in which the damage was
incurred. For purposes of applying the preceding calculation in
prorating supplemental taxes, the term "fiscal year" means that
portion of the tax year used to determine the adjusted amount of
taxes due pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 75.41. If the damage
or destruction occurred after January 1 and before the beginning of
the next fiscal year, the reassessment shall be utilized to determine
the tax liability for the next fiscal year. However, if the property
is fully restored during the next fiscal year, taxes due for that
year shall be prorated based on the number of months in the year
before and after the completion of restoration.
(f) Any tax paid in excess of the total tax due shall be refunded
to the taxpayer pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 5096)
of Part 9, as an erroneously collected tax or by order of the board
of supervisors without the necessity of a claim being filed pursuant
to Chapter 5.
(g) (1) The assessed value of the property in its damaged
condition, as determined pursuant to subdivision (b) compounded
annually by the inflation factor specified in subdivision (a) of
Section 51, shall be the taxable value of the property until it is
restored, repaired, reconstructed, or other provisions of the law
require the establishment of a new base year value.
(2) If partial reconstruction, restoration, or repair has occurred
on any subsequent lien date, the taxable value shall be increased by
an amount determined by multiplying the difference between its
factored base year value immediately before the calamity and its
assessed value in its damaged condition by the percentage of the
repair, reconstruction, or restoration completed on that lien date.
(3) (A) On the third lien date following the calamity, if partial
reconstruction, restoration, or repair is not progressing in a timely
fashion, the assessed value of the property shall be determined
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 51.
(B) This paragraph shall only apply to property destroyed or
damaged in an area or region proclaimed by the Governor to be in a
state of emergency.
(h) (1) When the property is fully repaired, restored, or
reconstructed, the assessor shall make an additional assessment or
assessments in accordance with subparagraph (A) or (B) upon
completion of the repair, restoration, or reconstruction:
(A) If the completion of the repair, restoration, or
reconstruction occurs on or after January 1, but on or before May 31,
then there shall be two additional assessments. The first additional
assessment shall be the difference between the new taxable value as
of the date of completion and the taxable value on the current roll.
The second additional assessment shall be the difference between the
new taxable value as of the date of completion and the taxable value
to be enrolled on the roll being prepared.
(B) If the completion of the repair, restoration, or
reconstruction occurs on or after June 1, but before the succeeding
January 1, then the additional assessment shall be the difference
between the new taxable value as of the date of completion and the
taxable value on the current roll.
(2) On the lien date following completion of the repair,
restoration, or reconstruction, the assessor shall enroll the new
taxable value of the property as of that lien date.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, "new taxable value" shall
mean the lesser of the property's (A) full cash value, or (B)
factored base year value or its factored base year value as adjusted
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 70.
(i) The assessor may apply Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
75) of Part 0.5 in implementing this section, to the extent that
chapter is consistent with this section.
(j) This section applies to all counties, whether operating under
a charter or under the general laws of this state.
(k) Any ordinance in effect pursuant to former Section 155.1,
155.13, or 155.14 shall remain in effect according to its terms as if
that ordinance was adopted pursuant to this section, subject to the
limitations of subdivision (b).
( l ) When the assessor does not have the general
authority pursuant to subdivision (a) to initiate reassessments, if
no application is made and the assessor determines that within the
preceding 12 months a property has suffered damage caused by
misfortune or calamity, that may qualify the property owner for
relief under an ordinance adopted under this section, the assessor,
with the approval of the board of supervisors, may reassess the
particular property for which approval was granted as provided in
subdivision (b) and notify the last known owner of the property of
the reassessment.
(m) The amendments made to this section by the act adding this
subdivision shall apply retroactively to the County of Los Angeles
with respect to property located in the Porter Ranch neighborhood in
the City of Los Angeles that was affected by the methane gas leak in
that area in 2015 and 2016. Notwithstanding any other law, in the
case of these properties, the application for reassessment may be
filed within 12 months of the enactment of this subdivision or within
the time specified in the ordinance, whichever is later. This
subdivision does not alter any existing law regarding claims or
defenses related to diminution of property values. The enactment of
this subdivision does not in itself establish a presumption that
property values have declined or that any property is in any way
"damaged or destroyed" or otherwise "contaminated" for purposes of a
civil action related to the methane gas leak that occurred in the
Porter Ranch neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles in 2015 and
2016.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is
necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
because of the unique circumstances related to the methane gas leak
that occurred in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of the City of Los
Angeles in 2015 and 2016.
SEC. 3. 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 as soon as possible provide necessary relief to the
residents of the Porter Ranch neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles
that were affected by the methane gas leak that occurred there in
2015 and 2016, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
