Property taxation: certificated aircraft assessment.

Existing property tax law requires the personal property of an air carrier to be taxed at its fair market value, and the California Constitution requires property subject to ad valorem property taxation to be assessed in the county in which it is situated. Existing law, for the 2005–06 fiscal year to the 2016–17 fiscal year, inclusive, specifies a formula to determine the fair market value of certificated aircraft of a commercial air carrier, and rebuttably presumes that the amount determined pursuant to this formula is the fair market value of the certificated aircraft. This bill would extend the 2016–17 fiscal year termination date to the 2019–20 fiscal year for the above-described provisions relating to the determination of the fair market value and taxation of certificated aircraft. Existing law, until December 31, 2016, requires the Aircraft Advisory Subcommittee of the California Assessors' Association to designate, after soliciting input from commercial air carriers operating in the state, a lead county assessor's office for each commercial air carrier operating certificated aircraft in this state in an assessment year, and requires the lead county assessor to calculate the value of the air carrier's personal property and to transmit these calculations to other county assessors, but specifies that each county assessor is responsible for assessing and enrolling the taxable value of the property in his or her county, as provided. Existing law, until December 31, 2016, also requires the lead county assessor's office to lead a team to audit the books and records of commercial air carriers and requires a commercial air carrier that receives a notice of the designation of a lead county assessor's office to file one signed property statement with the lead county assessor's office for its personal property at all airport locations and fixtures at all airport locations. Existing law requires the lead county assessor's office to receive the property statement of each commercial air carrier to which he or she is assigned. This bill would extend the December 31, 2016, inoperative or repeal date to December 31, 2019, for the above-described provisions. The bill, on or before March 1, 2017, would additionally require the Aircraft Advisory Subcommittee of the California Assessors' Association to designate contacts in each lead county assessor's office for each commercial air carrier to address specified issues and to establish best practices for the effective administration of the lead county system and audit process. The bill would require the lead county assessor's office to transmit the property statement to the assessor of each county in which the personal property of the commercial air carrier is located or has acquired situs, including certificated aircraft. The bill would require a county assessor that receives a property statement from the lead county assessor's office to direct questions about the contents of the property statement first to the lead county assessor's office and then, if the lead county assessor's office is unable to provide an answer, to the commercial air carrier that filed the property statement. By extending the application of the aforementioned valuation process for certificated aircraft beyond the 2016–17 fiscal year, thereby imposing new duties upon a lead county assessor's office, the 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.