Property taxation: disaster relief: payment of deferred taxes.

Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors of a county 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 approval of the board of supervisors. Existing law also authorizes owners of eligible property, as defined, who have applied for reassessment under that ordinance, to apply for a deferral of payment of that installment of property taxes. This bill would require that the application for a deferral of payment be made in conjunction with the claim for reassessment. Existing law requires the payment to be deferred without penalty or interest until the assessor has reassessed the property and a corrected bill has been sent to the property owner, at which time the taxes deferred pursuant to these provisions become due 30 days after receipt by the owner of the corrected tax bill and, if unpaid thereafter, are delinquent, as specified. This bill would instead provide that deferred taxes on the corrected tax bill are due and payable for the current tax year, as described above, on the later of (1) December 10 for the first installment or April 10 for the 2nd installment or (2) 30 days after the date that the corrected bill is mailed or electronically transmitted to the owner. The bill would additionally require the payment to be deferred without penalty and interest until the assessor has determined that the property is not eligible to be reassessed and the assessor has so notified the property owner. By changing the manner by which deferral of property taxes for disaster relief is administered, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.