California Senate Bill SB822 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 822AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 23, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Committee on Revenue and Taxation (Senators Wolk (Chair), Alquist, Ashburn, Florez, Runner, Walters, and Wiggins) MARCH 10, 2009 An act to amend Sections 72, 155.20,  441,  441.5, and 2823 of, and to add Section 205.6 to, the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 822, as amended, Committee on Revenue and Taxation. Property taxation: local administration. (1) Existing law provides for the creation of an assessor's office in each county, and requires the assessor's office to determine the new base year value for taxable real property that has been newly constructed. Existing law requires an assessee or his or her designee to file with the city, county, or city and county, a scale copy of the floor plans and exterior dimensions of the building designated for the county assessor at the time the assessee files, or causes to be filed, an approved set of building plans. This bill would authorize the county assessor to require the floor plans to be provided to the assessor in an electronic format, if available. (2) Existing property tax law authorizes each county board of supervisors to exempt from property taxation those properties having a full value too low to justify the costs of assessment and collection, and limits any exemption granted by each county board of supervisors to property with a value not exceeding $5,000. This bill would increase the limit for this exemption from $5,000 to $10,000. (3) The California Constitution authorizes the exemption from property taxation of the principal residence of a disabled veteran, or a veteran's spouse, in the case in which a person has, as a result of a service-connected disease or injury, become disabled or died while on active duty in military service. Existing property tax law requires the State Board of Equalization to prescribe all procedures and forms required to carry into effect any property tax exemption. This bill would authorize county assessors to supply specified information from disabled veterans' property tax exemption claims and county records at the written request of the board, in order to prevent duplications of the disabled veterans' property tax exemption within the state and improper overlapping with other benefits provided by law. (4) Existing law requires taxpayers that meet certain criteria to file a signed property statement with the county assessor  , and in the case of a corporate owner of property, requires the property statement to be signed either by an officer of the corporation or an employee or agent who has been designated in writing by the board of directors to sign the statement  . Existing law authorizes a taxpayer, in lieu of completing the property statement as printed by the assessor, to furnish the information required as attachments to the property statement, provided that one copy of the property statement is signed by the taxpayer and contains an appropriate reference to the data attached, or the property statement is filed electronically and authenticated, as specified. This bill would  delete the requirement that the employee or agent who signs the property statement be designated in writing by the board of directors. This bill would also  authorize a taxpayer to complete a property statement that is substantially similar to the property statement as printed by the assessor, as provided, in lieu of completing the property statement as printed by the assessor, and would authorize the assessor to consider the information provided by the taxpayer, in lieu of completing the property statement as printed by the assessor, as the property statement. (5) Existing law prohibits a county assessor from making a separate valuation of any parcel covered by a subdivision map filed for record after the lien date immediately preceding the current fiscal year. This bill would provide that this prohibition does not apply in any county in which the board of supervisors provides for a separate valuation pursuant to an ordinance adopted by a majority vote of the board. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 72 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read: 72. (a) A copy of any building permit issued by any city, county, or city and county shall be transmitted by each issuing entity to the county assessor as soon as possible after the date of issuance. (b) A copy of any certificate of occupancy or other document that shows the date of completion of new construction issued or finalized by any city, county, or city and county, shall be transmitted by each entity to the county assessor within 30 days after the date of issuance or finalization. (c) At the time an assessee files, or causes to be filed, an approved set of building plans with the city, county, or city and county, a scale copy of the floor plans and exterior dimensions of the building designated for the county assessor shall be filed by the assessee or his or her designee. The scale copy shall be in sufficient detail to allow the assessor to determine the square footage of the building and, in the case of a residential building, the intended use of each room. The county assessor may require the floor plans be provided to the county assessor in an electronic format, if available. An assessee, or his or her designee, where multiple units are to be constructed from the same set of building plans, may file only one scale copy of floor plans and exterior dimensions, so long as each application for a building permit with respect to those building plans specifically identifies the scale copy filed pursuant to this section. However, where the square footage of any one of the multiple units is altered, an assessee, or his or her designee, shall file a scale copy of the floor plan and exterior dimensions that specifically identifies the alteration from the previously filed scale copy. The receiving authority shall transmit that copy to the county assessor as soon as possible after the final plans are approved. (d) The board of supervisors of a county may enact, by a majority vote of its entire membership, an ordinance, resolution, or board order that requires the local agency that approves the tentative map or maps, and any conditions of approval for the tentative map or maps that are filed with a county or a city in that county, to submit a copy of the map or maps, and any conditions of approval for the tentative map or maps, to the county assessor as soon as possible after the map or maps are filed. The ordinance, resolution, or board order may require that the map or maps be provided to the county assessor in an electronic format, if available in that form. SEC. 2. Section 155.20 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read: 155.20. (a) Subject to the limitations listed in subdivisions (b), (c), (d), and (e), a county board of supervisors may exempt from property tax all real property with a base year value (as determined pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 50) of Part 0.5), and personal property with a full value so low that, if not exempt, the total taxes, special assessments, and applicable subventions on the property would amount to less than the cost of assessing and collecting them. (b) (1) The board of supervisors shall have no authority to exempt property with a total base year value or full value of more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), except that this limitation is increased to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) in the case of a possessory interest, for a temporary and transitory use, in a publicly owned fairground, fairground facility, convention facility, or cultural facility. For purposes of this paragraph, "publicly owned convention or cultural facility" means a publicly owned convention center, civic auditorium, theater, assembly hall, museum, or other civic building that is used primarily for staging any of the following: (A) Conventions, trade and consumer shows, or civic and community events. (B) Live theater, dance, or musical productions. (C) Artistic, historic, technological, or educational exhibits. (2) In determining the level of the exemption, the board of supervisors shall determine at what level of exemption the costs of assessing the property and collecting taxes, assessments, and subventions on the property exceeds the proceeds to be collected. The board of supervisors shall establish the exemption level uniformly for different classes of property. In making this determination, the board of supervisors may consider the total taxes, special assessments, and applicable subventions for the year of assessment only or for the year of assessment and succeeding years where cumulative revenues will not exceed the cost of assessments and collections. (c) This section does not apply to those real or personal properties enumerated in Section 52. (d) The exemption authorized by this section shall be adopted by the board of supervisors on or before the lien date for the fiscal year to which the exemption is to apply and may, at the option of the board of supervisors, continue in effect for succeeding fiscal years. Any revision or rescission of the exemption shall be adopted by the board of supervisors on or before the lien date for the fiscal year to which that revision or rescission is to apply. (e) Nothing in this section shall authorize either of the following: (1) A county board of supervisors to exempt new construction, unless the new total base year value of the property, including this new construction, is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or less. (2) An assessor to exempt or not to enroll any property of any value, unless specifically authorized by a county board of supervisors, pursuant to this section. SEC. 3. Section 205.6 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read: 205.6. In order to prevent duplications of the disabled veterans' property tax exemption within the state and improper overlapping with other benefits provided by law, county assessors may supply information from disabled veterans' property tax exemption claims and county records as is specified by written request of the board necessary to fully identify all disabled veterans' property tax exemption claims allowed by the assessors. The board may specify that the information include all or a part of the names and social security numbers of claimants and spouses and the identity and location of the dwelling to which the exemption applies. The information may be required in the form of data-processing media or other media and in such format as is compatible with the recordkeeping processes of the counties and the auditing procedures of the state.  SEC. 4.   Section 441 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read: 441. (a) Each person owning taxable personal property, other than a manufactured home subject to Part 13 (commencing with Section 5800), having an aggregate cost of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or more for any assessment year shall file a signed property statement with the assessor. Every person owning personal property that does not require the filing of a property statement or real property shall, upon request of the assessor, file a signed property statement. Failure of the assessor to request or secure the property statement does not render any assessment invalid. (b) The property statement shall be declared to be true under the penalty of perjury and filed annually with the assessor between the lien date and 5 p.m. on April 1. The penalty provided by Section 463 applies for property statements not filed by May 7. If May 7 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, a property statement that is mailed and postmarked on the next business day shall be deemed to have been filed between the lien date and 5 p.m. on May 7. If, on the dates specified in this subdivision, the county's offices are closed for the entire day, that day is considered a legal holiday for purposes of this section. (c) The property statement may be filed with the assessor through the United States mail, properly addressed with postage prepaid. For purposes of determining the date upon which the property statement is deemed filed with the assessor, the date of postmark as affixed by the United States Postal Service, or the date certified by a bona fide private courier service on the envelope containing the application, shall control. This subdivision shall be applicable to every taxing agency, including, but not limited to, a chartered city and county, or chartered city. (d) (1) At any time, as required by the assessor for assessment purposes, every person shall make available for examination information or records regarding his or her property or any other personal property located on premises he or she owns or controls. In this connection, details of property acquisition transactions, construction and development costs, rental income, and other data relevant to the determination of an estimate of value are to be considered as information essential to the proper discharge of the assessor's duties. (2) (A) This subdivision shall also apply to an owner-builder or an owner-developer of new construction that is sold to a third party, is constructed on behalf of a third party, or is constructed for the purpose of selling that property to a third party. (B) The owner-builder or owner-developer of new construction described in subparagraph (A), shall, within 45 days of receipt of a written request by the assessor for information or records, provide the assessor with all information and records regarding that property. The information and records provided to the assessor shall include the total consideration provided either by the purchaser or on behalf of the purchaser that was paid or provided either, as part of or outside of the purchase agreement, including, but not limited to, consideration paid or provided for the purchase or acquisition of upgrades, additions, or for any other additional or supplemental work performed or arranged for by the owner-builder or owner-developer on behalf of the purchaser. (e) In the case of a corporate owner of property, the property statement shall be signed either by an officer of the corporation or an employee or agent. (f) In the case of property owned by a bank or other financial institution and leased to an entity other than a bank or other financial institution, the property statement shall be submitted by the owner bank or other financial institution. (g) The assessor may refuse to accept any property statement he or she determines to be in error. (h) If a taxpayer fails to provide information to the assessor pursuant to subdivision (d) and introduces any requested materials or information at any assessment appeals board hearing, the assessor may request and shall be granted a continuance for a reasonable period of time. The continuance shall extend the two-year period specified in subdivision (c) of Section 1604 for a period of time equal to the period of the continuance. (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, every person required to file a property statement pursuant to this section shall be permitted to amend that property statement until May 31 of the year in which the property statement is due, for errors and omissions not the result of willful intent to erroneously report. The penalty authorized by Section 463 does not apply to an amended statement received prior to May 31, provided the original statement is not subject to penalty pursuant to subdivision (b). The amended property statement shall otherwise conform to the requirements of a property statement as provided in this article. (j) This subdivision shall apply to the oil, gas, and mineral extraction industry only. Any information that is necessary to file a true, correct, and complete statement shall be made available by the assessor, upon request, to the taxpayer by mail or at the office of the assessor by February 28. For each business day beyond February 28 that the information is unavailable, the filing deadline in subdivision (b) shall be extended in that county by one business day, for those statements affected by the delay. In no case shall the filing deadline be extended beyond June 1 or the first business day thereafter. (k) The assessor may accept the filing of a property statement by the use of electronic media. In lieu of the signature required by subdivision (a) and the declaration under penalty of perjury required by subdivision (b), property statements filed using electronic media shall be authenticated pursuant to methods specified by the assessor and approved by the board. Electronic media includes, but is not limited to, computer modem, magnetic media, optical disk, and facsimile machine. () (1) After receiving the notice required by Section 1162, the manager in control of a fleet of fractionally owned aircraft shall file with the lead county assessor's office one signed property statement for all of its aircraft that have acquired situs in the state, as described in Section 1161. (2) Flight data required to compute fractionally owned aircraft allocation under Section 1161 shall be segregated by airport. (m) (1) After receiving the notice required by paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 1153.5, a commercial air carrier whose certificated aircraft is subject to Article 6 (commencing with Section 1150) of Chapter 5 shall file with the lead county assessor's office designated under Section 1153.5 one signed property statement for its personal property at all airport locations and fixtures at all airport locations. (2) Each commercial air carrier may file one schedule for all of its certificated aircraft that have acquired situs in this state under Section 1151. (3) Flight data required to compute certificated aircraft allocation under Section 1152 and subdivision (g) of Section 202 of Title 18 of the California Code of Regulations shall be segregated by airport location. (4) Beginning with the 2006 assessment year, a commercial air carrier may file a statement described in this subdivision electronically by means of the California Assessor's Standard Data Record (SDR) network. If the SDR is not equipped to accept electronic filings for the 2006 assessment year, an air carrier may file a printed version of its property statement for that year with its lead county assessor's office. (5) This subdivision shall remain in effect only until December 31, 2010, and as of that date is repealed.   SEC. 5.   SEC. 4.  Section 441.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read: 441.5. (a) In lieu of completing the property statement as printed by the assessor pursuant to Section 452, the assessor may accept the information required of the taxpayer by any of the following methods: (1) Attachments to the property statement, provided that the attachments shall be in a format as specified by the assessor and one copy of the property statement, as printed by the assessor, is signed by the taxpayer and carries appropriate reference to the data attached. (2) An electronically filed property statement that is authenticated as provided in subdivision (k) of Section 441. (3) A property statement that is substantially similar to the property statement as printed by the assessor that is signed by the taxpayer. (b) The assessor may consider information provided by any of the methods specified in subdivision (a) as the property statement for purposes of this division.  SEC. 6.   SEC. 5.  Section 2823 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read: 2823. (a) The county assessor shall determine a separate valuation on the parcel, and shall determine the valuation of the remaining parcel. The sum of the valuations of the parcels shall equal their total valuation before separation. (b) A separate valuation shall not be made of any parcel covered by a subdivision map filed for record after the lien date immediately preceding the current fiscal year. However, this prohibition shall not apply in any county in which the board of supervisors provides for a separate valuation pursuant to an ordinance adopted by a majority vote of the board. In connection with the recording of a final subdivision map a segregation may nevertheless be made so as to include all of the land within the subdivision in a single parcel. (c) A separate valuation shall not be made dividing any piece of property separately assessed in the original assessment into more than four parcels. However, this prohibition shall not apply in any county in which the board of supervisors so provides in an ordinance adopted by a majority vote of the board. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a separate valuation to divide any existing residential structure into a subdivision, as defined in Section 66424 of the Government Code, shall not be made until a subdivision final map or parcel map, as described in Sections 66434 and 66445, respectively, of the Government Code has been recorded as required by law. If the requirement for a parcel map is waived pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 66428 of the Government Code, then the assessor shall not assign any parcel numbers or prepare a separate assessment or separate valuation, unless the applicant provides a copy of the finding made by the legislative body or advisory agency, as required by that subdivision. (e) With respect to nonresidential subdivisions, without regard to the number of parcels involved, which are covered by special assessment liens the bonds for which are owned by a county, the board of supervisors of that county may authorize the county assessor, auditor, and tax collector to prorate the amounts for past due property taxes and assessment liens, plus any interest and penalties that may have accrued thereon, among the various parcels in the subdivision. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the tax collector may then enter into an installment payment agreement with respect to the pending subdivision map and thereupon the agreement shall be deemed the equivalent of a certificate pursuant to Section 66492 of the Government Code for purposes of permitting the filing of the final map and shall be recorded together with the final map, provided that the past due property taxes, assessment liens, and the special assessment lien shall not be discharged of record by the agreement, but shall be prorated among the parcels created by the final map. (f) If the application requested that the tax created by the assessment of personal property, or leasehold improvements, or possessory interests be allowed to remain as a lien on the parcel sought to be separately valued, and the assessor determines that the value of the parcel is sufficient to secure the payment of the tax, the assessor shall set forth the value of such personal property, or leasehold improvements, or possessory interests opposite the assessor' s determination of the value of the parcel.