California Senate Bill SB1329 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1329INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Hertzberg FEBRUARY 19, 2016 An act to amend Sections 742 and 744 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1329, as introduced, Hertzberg. Property tax: reassessment: electronic mail. With respect to state-assessed property, existing property tax law establishes a procedure by which an assessee may petition the State Board of Equalization for reassessment of unitary or nonunitary property. Existing property tax law requires the board to mail to the assessee the notice of the time and place of a hearing on the petition and the decision on the petition. Existing property tax law requires the notice of the time and place of a hearing be sent at least 10 working days in advance of the date of the hearing. This bill would require the board to send these documents to the assessee's electronic mail address if the assesee requests that they be sent by electronic mail. The bill would also require that notice of the time and place of the hearing instead be sent at least 15 working days in advance of the date of the hearing. 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 742 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read: 742. Upon receipt of a timely petition for reassessment, the board shall set a time and place within the state for hearing on the petition. Notice  thereof   of the time and place of the hearing  shall be mailed  and, if requested by the assessee, electronically mailed  to the assessee at its  address   address,   electronic mail address, or both,  as shown in the records of the board, not less than  10   15  working days in advance of the date of the hearing. SEC. 2. Section 744 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read: 744. (a) The board shall notify the petitioner of its decision on a petition for reassessment by mail  and, if requested by the assessee, by electronic mail  and shall make written findings and conclusions if requested at or prior to the commencement of the hearing. The board shall send a periodic report of its decisions and any written findings and conclusions thereon to each county in which affected state-assessed property is situated. The findings shall fairly disclose the board's determination of material factual issues and shall contain a statement of the method or methods of valuation used by the board in valuing the property. Notwithstanding the requirement for a statement of method or methods, the board's approval of a settlement of a lawsuit contesting the value of state-assessed property shall be sufficient disclosure when value is determined in accordance with a board-approved settlement. Decisions of the board on petitions for reassessment of state-assessed property shall be completed on or before December 31. (b) When the value of an assessee's state-assessed property is determined, after a hearing on a petition for reassessment, to be different from the value originally adopted by the board, the board shall determine the year in which the corrected value is to be entered on the roll. The correct value may be entered on the roll for the fiscal year in which the determination is made, or the difference between the original and the corrected value may be entered as an increase or decrease in the assessment for the succeeding fiscal year. If the corrected value is entered on the roll for the fiscal year in which it is determined, and the board roll has been transmitted to the county auditors, the board shall make the corresponding changes in allocations and transmit the roll corrections to the county auditor. (c) If the amount of the correction is to be entered on the roll for the succeeding fiscal year, an amount is to be added in lieu of interest. If the correction results in a reduction in assessed value, there shall be added to the reduction, in lieu of interest, 9 percent of the difference between the original assessed value and the reduced assessed value. If the correction results in an increase in assessed value, there shall be added to the increase, in lieu of interest, 9 percent of the difference between the original assessed value and the increased assessed value.