By Scott Kaufman, Legislative Director
When the deadline for legislators to submit bills for the year passed earlier this spring, California lawmakers had introduced just under 1,800 bills. Eleven hundred of those bills were introduced in the last week before the deadline and 600 of them are blank, expressing only an “intent” to add the real bill later. You may be surprised to know that’s actually low. According to Chris Micheli, an attorney and lobbyist up here in Sacramento who tracks these sorts of things, it’s 550 fewer bills than last year. Small blessings, I guess. But it’s still a lot and your intrepid lobbyist here at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association reviews them all. We’ll have more to share with you in the next issue of Taxing Times, but here’s what we’re following already:
Assembly Bill 1608 would allow the inspector general overseeing the California High-Speed Rail Authority to withhold records that the official believes would “reveal weaknesses” that could harm the state or benefit someone inappropriately. This effort to throttle transparency of a project that is already the subject of international derision is incomprehensible as well as offensive to the public’s right to know. We plan to oppose.
Assembly Bill 1768 would allow Los Angeles County to adopt, with voter approval, a one-half percent transactions and use tax (sales tax) that, in combination with other taxes, exceeds the state’s two percent cap. If you live in Los Angeles County, this can only mean one thing. New or higher taxes are coming. Be warned and be ready to vote no when you receive your ballot for the June 2 primary election! We’ll oppose.
Assembly Bill 2180 is a big one. It will likely be our number-one priority this year. This bill will make it easier to justify higher water rates in defiance of Proposition 218. After Prop. 13, local governments began to impose property taxes in the form of “benefit assessments.” The original purpose of such levies was to finance improvements directly beneficial to specific parcels of property, such as sidewalks. But “benefit assessment” abuse quickly became an end run around Prop. 13 and in 1996, Proposition 218, known as the Right to Vote on Taxes Act, clamped down on fake “benefit assessments” as well as requiring other property-related fees and charges to be based on the proportional cost of service. That included water rates. Recently, a court decision, Dreher v. City of Los Angeles, interpreted the law in a way that undercut protections for ratepayers, and now the water districts are asking the Legislature to change the law to cement that interpretation in place. However, the Dreher decision is still working its way through the courts and directly conflicts with other rulings. It’s not only inappropriate for the Legislature to insert itself into another branch of government like this but also likely unconstitutional. Proposition 218 made clear that it should be interpreted in a manner to effectuate its purposes of tax limitation. We will oppose AB 2180.
Assembly Bill 2484 would allow the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System to impose, with voter approval, a one-half percent transactions and use tax that exceeds the state’s two percent cap. MTS just loves trying to raise your taxes down there. Here comes another one to vote on. We will oppose.
Senate Bill 288 is a good one! It’s about time we got some positivity on this list. This one is by State Senator Kelly Seyarto, who has made it his mission to unwind as much of Proposition 19 inheritance limitations as possible. This bill deals with probate and says that Prop. 19’s one-year window to move into the property and claim it as your own begins at the conclusion of the probate proceedings. A lot of folks who were forced through the probate process were seeing their property taxes reassessed because they couldn’t move into the home in time. This fixes that, and we will be supporting the bill.
Senate Bill 762 would allow the City of Hercules, with voter approval, to impose a transactions and use tax of up to one percent that exceeds the state’s two percent cap. If you’re in Hercules, more taxes are coming. This is another oppose from us.
Senate Bill 974 is another Sen. Seyarto bill dealing with Prop. 19. This one clarifies that if a severely and permanently disabled person inherits the family home as their primary residence, and they have a special needs trust, they satisfy the conditions of Prop. 19. We will support it.
Senate Bill 1078 would allow Santa Cruz County to adopt, with voter approval, a one-half percent transactions and use tax that, in combination with other taxes, exceeds the state’s two percent cap. This is like AB 1768 and can only mean new or higher taxes are coming. So, Santa Cruz readers, you’re on notice, too. Get ready to vote no on higher taxes! This is another one we will be opposing.
Senate Bill 1408 is another sales tax hike. This one would allow the Contra Costa Transportation Authority to, with voter approval, impose a transaction and use tax of one percent. That’s the second sales tax hike on the list from Contra Costa County. Aren’t you folks lucky! You know the drill. Vote no! We’ll be opposing it.
Senate Constitutional Amendment 4 and Senate Bill 623 go hand-in-hand and are another positive addition to the list. Currently, you can only claim one “real property tax benefit” at a time. Proposition 19 requires you to claim the Homeowners’ Exemption in order to pass your property tax base-year value to your heirs. That means you can’t claim the Veterans’ or Disabled Veterans’ Exemption and still pass your home to your kids without reassessment. This bill would allow eligible property owners to claim all three. We will be supporting it.
As always, if you have a question about bills pending in the Legislature, you’re welcome to write to me at Scott@HJTA.org.
It’s a privilege to represent your interests in the State Capitol.