AB 50

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Under the California Disaster Assistance Act the state share may be up to 100% for costs connected with certain events only if the local agency has adopted a local hazard mitigation plan in accordance with specified federal law. Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires that a city, county, or city and county general plan contain a safety element for the protection of the community from specified safety risks, and authorizes a city, county, or a city and county to adopt with its safety element a federally specified local hazard mitigation plan that includes specified elements. This bill would eliminate the requirement that adoption of the federally specified local hazard mitigation plan include required specified elements. (2) Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to provide by ordinance for the reassessment of 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 have adopted reassessment ordinances and have been declared by the Governor 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 the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties for purposes of funding these state allocations. This bill would provide for similar state allocations with respect to property tax revenue reductions resulting from a reassessment for damages incurred within the County of Santa Barbara, which was declared by the Governor to be in a state of emergency due to the wildfires that commenced in November 2008 or May 2009, within the Counties of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino, which were declared by the Governor to be in a state of emergency due to the wildfires that commenced in November 2008, within the County of Placer, which was declared by the Governor to be in a state of emergency due to the wildfires that commenced in August 2009, and within the County of Kern, which was declared by the Governor to be in a state of emergency due to the wildfires that commenced in July 2010. By requiring moneys continuously appropriated from the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties to be allocated for the new purpose of reimbursing these counties for these property tax revenue reductions, this bill would make an appropriation. (3) 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 also provide that any dwelling that (1) qualified for the exemption prior to August 30, 2009, was damaged or destroyed by the wildfires in the County of Placer, as declared by the Governor to be in a state of emergency in August 2009, and has not changed ownership since August 30, 2009, and (2) qualified for the exemption prior to July 26, 2010, was damaged or destroyed by the wildfires in the County of Kern, as declared by the Governor to be in a state of emergency in July 2010, and has not changed ownership since July 26, 2010, may not be denied the exemption solely on the basis that the dwelling was temporarily damaged or destroyed or was being reconstructed by the owner, or was temporarily uninhabited as a result of restricted access to the property due to wildfires. 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 of the Legislature to make this required reimbursement in the annual Budget Act. By requiring local tax officials to implement new exemption criteria, 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 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. (4) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law provide for the carryover to specified taxable years of specified losses sustained as a result of certain disasters occurring in California in an area determined by the President of the United States to warrant specified federal assistance, or proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of emergency. This bill would extend these provisions to losses sustained in the County of Placer as a result of the wildfires that commenced in August 2009 and in the County of Kern as a result of the wildfires that commenced in July 2010. This bill would authorize a taxpayer to make an election to claim a deduction for those losses on the tax return for the preceding year. (5) Existing law requires the auditor of a county which was the subject of the Governor's proclamation of a state of emergency to certify to the Director of Finance an estimate of the total reduction in property tax revenues resulting from the reassessment by the county assessor of those properties that are eligible as a result of disasters, and requires the director to verify the county auditor's estimate and certify that amount to the Controller for allocation to the county. This bill would prohibit, for any fire disaster occurring after January 1, 2010, the Department of Finance from certifying a county auditor's estimate of the total reduction in property tax resulting from the reassessment by the county assessor of eligible properties as a result of those disasters unless the county demonstrates compliance with specified requirements at the time the fire disaster occurred. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.