California Assembly Bill AB1181 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1181AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 24, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 31, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 21, 2011 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 10, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Butler FEBRUARY 18, 2011 An act to amend  Section 95.31 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to local government finance, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.   Sections 12210.5, 12509, 12511.1, and 12512 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to weights and measures.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1181, as amended, Butler.  Property tax administration: loan program.   Weights and measures.   Existing law makes it a crime for a person, firm, corporation, or association to advertise, solicit, or represent by any means a product for sale or purchase if it is intended to entice a consumer into a transaction different from that originally represented. When the sale of any commodity is based upon a quantity representation either furnished by the purchaser or obtained through the use of equipment supplied by the purchaser, the purchaser is prohibited from buying the commodity according to any quantity which is less than the true quantity. A violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor.   This bill would revise the latter provision by prohibiting the purchaser from buying the commodity according to any quantity which is less than the true quantity or computing the purchase price of the commodity according to a unit price that is less than the highest applicable price per unit, that is advertised, posted, marked, displayed, or quoted for the commodity, or less than a price per unit that is established by law or regulation. Because the bill would change the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.   Existing law also prohibits a person from engaging in business as a service agency for the repair of weights and measures, unless that person registers with the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, as specified.   This bill would make technical and conforming changes to related provisions.   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.   Existing property tax law had authorized an eligible county, as defined, upon the recommendation of the assessor and by resolution of its board of supervisors, to elect to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program, pursuant to which a participating county received, in specified fiscal years, a loan from the state, as specified, for the purposes of providing supplemental funding for that county's local administration of the ad valorem property tax.   This bill would reauthorize the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program to allow counties to elect to participate in the program to receive a loan in each fiscal year from the 2012-13 fiscal year to the 2015-16 fiscal year, inclusive. This bill would also require the California Assessors' Association to report to the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review and the Assembly Committee on Budget regarding participating counties, as specified.   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.  Vote:  2/3   majority  . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  no   yes  . THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 12210.5 of the   Business and Professions Code   is amended to read:  12210.5.  (a)    Any county which inspects or tests any weighing or measuring device or instrument used commercially, at the request of the owner or user of  such   that  device, when  such  inspection or testing of the device could legally be performed by a registered  repairman,   service agency, as defined in Section 12531,  may, if authorized by the county board of supervisors, collect from the requesting owner or user thereof a fee.  Such   (b)     That  fee shall be based upon a uniform schedule of fees, which shall be prescribed by the  director   secretary  for use by the counties. The  director   secretary  shall prepare the schedule of fees to be comparable with the rates charged by the industry's registered  repairmen.   service agencies.  All fees collected shall be credited to the general fund of the county in which collected and used only for the administration and enforcement of laws pertaining to weights and measures.  SEC. 2.   Section 12509 of the   Business and Professions Code   is amended to read:  12509.  (a)    When any weight, measure, or weighing or measuring instrument has been repaired and corrected, and has been reinspected and found  correct   correct,  the sealer shall remove the tag or device with the words "out of order," and shall seal and mark  such   that  weight, measure, or weighing or measuring instrument in the manner provided for the marking of the same where, upon inspection, it is found correct.  Upon   (b)     Upon  completion of corrective repairs or adjustments, and with the authorization from the sealer, a  repairman   registered   service agency, as defined in Section 12531,  may remove an "out of order" tag or device, and the weight, measure, or weighing or measuring instrument may be placed in service pending reinspection by the sealer.  SEC. 3.   Section 12511.1 of the   Business and Professions Code   is amended to read:  12511.1. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this division, any weight or measure, or weighing or measuring instrument, found correct or corrected by a  repairman,   registered service agency, as defined in Section 12531,  authorized pursuant to Section 12509, may be used commercially pending reinspection by a sealer.  SEC. 4.   Section 12512 of the   Business and Professions Code   is amended to read:  12512. When the sale of any commodity is based upon a quantity representation either furnished by the purchaser or obtained through the use of equipment supplied by him   the purchaser  , the purchaser shall in no case buy the commodity according to any quantity which is less than the true  quantity.   quantity or compute the purchase price of the commodity according to a unit price that is less than the highest applicable price per unit, that is advertised, posted,   marked, displayed, or quoted for the commodity, or where applicable, less than a price per unit that is established by law, in statute   , or by regulation.  Violation of this section is a misdemeanor.  SEC. 5.   No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.   SECTION 1.   Section 95.31 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read: 95.31. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, any county may, upon the recommendation of the county assessor, and by resolution of the board of supervisors of that county adopted not later than February 1 of the fiscal year for which it is to first apply, elect to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program. (b) (1) In each fiscal year from the 2012-13 fiscal year to the 2015-16 fiscal year, inclusive, a county participating in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program may receive a loan for up to the amount listed in paragraph (3). However, for the 2012-13 fiscal year, a county participating in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program may receive a loan for up to one-half of the amount listed in paragraph (3). The loan shall be repaid by June 30 of the fiscal year following the year in which the loan is made. However, at the discretion of the Director of Finance, the loan may be renewed once for an additional 12-month period at the request of the participating county board of supervisors. (2) (A) If a county elects to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program, it shall enter into a contractual agreement with the Department of Finance. At a minimum, the contractual agreement shall include the following: (i) The loan amount, as determined by the Director of Finance. (ii) Repayment provisions. (iii) A listing of the proposed use of the additional resources including, but not limited to: (I) Proposed new positions. (II) Increased automation costs. (iv) Commencing in the 2012-13 fiscal year, an agreement to provide to the Department of Finance, by March 31 of the fiscal year in which the loan is made, a report projecting the impact of the increased funding in the current and subsequent fiscal year. (v) An agreement to provide the Department of Finance an audit report detailing the county's basis for satisfying the terms of the loan agreement. The report shall be provided by October 1 of the fiscal year following the year in which the loan is made. (vi) An agreement to use the funds for the purposes stated, and, should any portion of the funds be diverted to a different, unapproved use, to return an amount equal to the diverted funds to the state regardless of whether or not other terms of the agreement are satisfied. (B) The terms of the contract and the loan amount shall be determined by standardized criteria. (3) Upon request of the Department of Finance, the Controller shall provide a loan to the following counties for an amount specified by the Director of Finance. The following amounts are targeted loan amounts: Jurisdiction Amount Alameda ..................... $ 2,199,786 Alpine ...................... 100,000 Amador ...................... 100,000 Butte ....................... 207,431 Calaveras ................... 100,000 Colusa ...................... 100,000 Contra Costa ................ 1,627,492 Del Norte ................... 100,000 El Dorado ................... 305,855 Fresno ...................... 654,693 Glenn ....................... 100,000 Humboldt .................... 122,349 Imperial .................... 118,682 Inyo ........................ 100,000 Kern ........................ 844,381 Kings ....................... 100,000 Lake ........................ 100,000 Lassen ...................... 100,000 Los Angeles ................. 11,949,154 Madera ...................... 123,737 Marin ....................... 632,279 Mariposa .................... 100,000 Mendocino ................... 113,255 Merced ...................... 189,021 Modoc ....................... 100,000 Mono ........................ 100,000 Monterey .................... 557,393 Napa ........................ 302,698 Nevada ...................... 187,802 Orange ...................... 4,674,190 Placer ...................... 637,598 Plumas ...................... 100,000 Riverside ................... 2,382,914 Sacramento .................. 1,411,399 San Benito .................. 100,000 San Bernardino .............. 1,904,245 San Diego ................... 4,346,770 San Francisco ............... 1,672,609 San Joaquin ................. 625,915 San Luis Obispo ............. 445,928 San Mateo ................... 1,608,858 Santa Barbara ............... 681,538 Santa Clara ................. 3,391,387 Santa Cruz .................. 372,719 Shasta ...................... 174,472 Sierra ...................... 100,000 Siskiyou .................... 100,000 Solano ...................... 461,156 Sonoma ...................... 762,342 Stanislaus .................. 411,622 Sutter ...................... 100,000 Tehama ...................... 100,000 Trinity ..................... 100,000 Tulare ...................... 305,188 Tuolumne .................... 100,000 Ventura ..................... 1,164,648 Yolo ........................ 228,498 Yuba ........................ 100,000 (4) The Department of Finance shall consider any or all of the following items in determining the extent to which a county has satisfied the terms and repaid the loan, pursuant to the contract, as offered under this part: (A) County performance as indicated by the State Board of Equalization's sample survey required pursuant to Section 15640 of the Government Code. (B) Performance measures adopted by the California Assessors' Association. (C) Reduction of backlog of assessment appeals, Proposition 8 declines in value, and restorations in value. (D) County compliance with mandatory audits required by Section 469 and nonmandatory audits. (E) Reduction of backlogs in new construction, changes in ownership, unsecured roll, and supplemental roll. (F) Other measures, as determined by the Director of Finance. (5) The Director of Finance shall notify the Controller of any participating county that fails to comply with the terms of the agreement, including the repayment of the loan. When the Controller receives notice from the Director of Finance, the Controller shall make an apportionment to the General Fund on behalf of the participating county in the amount of that required payment for the purpose of making that payment. (c) (1) Funds appropriated for purposes of this section shall be used to enhance the property tax administration system by providing supplemental resources. Amounts provided to any county as a loan pursuant to this section shall not be used to supplant the current level of funding. In order to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program, a participating county shall maintain a base staffing, including contract staff, and total funding level in the county assessor's office, independent of the loan proceeds provided pursuant to this act, equal to the levels in the 2011-12 fiscal year. (2) Prior to the assessor's recommendation for participation in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program, the assessor shall consult with the county tax collector, and any other county agency directly involved in property tax administration, to discuss the needs of the program for the duration of the contractual agreement. (d) A participating county may establish a tracking system whereby a work or function number is assigned to each appraisal or administrative activity. That system should provide statistical data on the number of production units performed by each employee and the positive and negative change in assessed value attributable to the activities performed by each employee. (e) Notwithstanding Section 95.3, no amount of funds provided to an eligible county pursuant to this section shall result in any deduction from those property tax administrative costs that are eligible for reimbursement pursuant to Section 95.3. (f) At the request of the Department of Finance, the board shall assist the Department of Finance in evaluating contracts entered into pursuant to this section. (g) On or before December 1, 2014, the California Assessors' Association shall provide to the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review and the Assembly Committee on Budget a report summarizing the reports provided by participating counties.   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 preserve funding for vital programs for education, health, and public safety, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.