CSAC Finance and Operations Signed and Vetoed Bill Summary
October 6, 2016
Signed
AB 120 (Committee on Budget). Elections: Support – Signed. Appropriates over $16 million dollars in one-time funding to counties for elections administrative duties related to conducting the June 2016 primary and ballot measure signature verification for the November 2016 general election.
AB 587 (Chau). Mobilehome Amnesty: Oppose – Signed. Provides a three-year amnesty window to mobilehome owners who are not current on their registration or related tax liability. Removes all property tax liability, including penalties and interest, for mobile home owners seeking to become current. CSAC opposed this measure due to the precedent-setting parameters for a tax amnesty program, impact to property tax revenues, and lack of corrective action to avoid future backlogs.
AB 2291 (Achadjian). Property Taxes: Support – Signed. Authorizes counties to charge an administrative fee to assist with the collection of partial payments for delinquent property taxes, upon approval by the Board of Supervisors.
AB 2476 (Daly). Parcel Taxes: Oppose – Signed. Requires local agencies that successfully pass a parcel tax to notify any property owner residing outside the local jurisdiction of the new tax. Costs incurred from the notification requirement may be recouped from proceeds of the parcel tax. CSAC opposed this measure due to implementation problems and the erosion of parcel tax revenues for the intended purpose.
AB 2801 (Gallagher). Property Assessments: Neutral – Signed. Requires local agencies seeking to levy a property-based assessment to retain any written protests received regarding that proposed assessment for two years following the date of the public hearing where the protests are considered. CSAC removed opposition following the adoption of amendments that retained local control of how local agencies handle written protests once received.
SB 975 (Committee on Governance and Finance). Property Tax Increment: Support – Signed. Prohibits property tax increment financing districts (including Enhanced Infrastructure Finance Districts and Community Investment and Revitalization Districts) from diverting property tax revenues that are the result of a voter approved override property tax rate, designated for a specified purpose.
AB 1666 (Broguh). Debt Reporting: Neutral – Signed. Requires annual reports by Community Facilities Districts (Mello-Roos) to the California Debt and Investment Advisory Committee and State Controller’s Office to be posted online if one is requested by an eligible property owner. CSAC removed opposition to the measure following the streamlining of the reporting requirements and alignment with existing reporting timeframes.
AB 2686 (Mullin). Elections: Support – Signed. Provides a cost-savings mechanism for county elections administration by permitting all vote-by-mail elections in special elections to fill a legislative or congressional vacancy. Currently, counties receive no reimbursement for conducting special elections to fill state legislative or federal vacancies.
SB 450 (Allen). Vote By Mail Elections: Support – Signed. Establishes optional new voting system for counties to conduct elections through mailed ballots and multiple day vote centers offering potential cost savings for counties and greater opportunities for voter participation.
SB 958 (Lara). Los Angeles County Redistricting Commission: Oppose – Signed. Mandates Los Angeles County establish a Citizens Redistricting Commission by 2020 consisting of 14 members to adjust the boundaries of the supervisorial districts based on specified criteria following the ten-year census. This requirement oversteps existing county authority to adjust boundaries and will cost the state and Los Angeles County hundreds of thousands of dollars for each review.
SB 971, 972, 973 (Committee on Governance and Finance): Validations. Support – Signed. As the annual validating acts, makes necessary, technical adjustments to validate the organization, boundaries, acts, proceedings, and bonds of the state and counties, cities, and specified districts, agencies, and entities.
SB 1029 (Hertzberg). Debt Reporting: Concerns – Signed. Requires any state and local agency issuing debt to report annually to the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission specified information in a methodology prescribed by the Commission. CSAC negotiated extensive amendments to limit the reporting to only debt issued after 2017, streamline the new reporting with existing report time frames, and secure county representative review of the reporting methodology. However, there continues to be redundancy in the reporting between the Commission and State Controller’s Office and duplication for Mello-Roos and JPAs.
Vetoed
AB 717 (Gonzalez). Sales Tax on Diapers: Oppose – Vetoed. Would have exempted diapers for toddlers and infants from state and local sales taxes for five years, resulting in a loss of over $36 million statewide for each of those years.
AB 1561 (Garcia). Sales Tax on Feminine Hygiene Products: Oppose – Vetoed. Would have exempted specified feminine hygiene products from state and local sales taxes for five years, resulting in a loss of over $20 million statewide for each of those years.
AB 1952 (Gordon). Property Taxes: Support – Vetoed. Would have provided additional funding mechanism to the Property Tax Postponement Program to help seniors and persons with a disability meet their property tax obligations without jeopardizing local revenue streams. While this program was re-established in fall 2016, it lacks sufficient funding to fully meet the demands of current applicants.
SB 49 (Runner). Special Elections: Support – Vetoed. Would have allowed the Governor to declare a candidate for legislative office elected if only one candidate qualifies at the time of the primary election, which could have resulted in major cost savings for county elections administration.
SB 817 (Roth). VLF Allocation: Support – Vetoed. Would have restored the pre-2011 Vehicle License Fee (VLF) allocation to California’s newest cities in Riverside County that lost this major source of general fund revenue due to the sweep of VLF during the establishment of the 2011 public safety realignment.
SB 898 (Nguyen). Sales Tax on Animal Blood: Oppose – Vetoed. Would have exempted animal blood products, such as those used for veterinarian services, sold by a nonprofit from state and local sales tax for five years. While the fiscal impact was relatively small compared to other sales tax exemption bills, the impact would be borne entirely by one county for a narrowly crafted effort targeting a single business entity.