Property tax: welfare exemption: affordable housing.

(1) Existing property tax law, in accordance with the California Constitution, provides for a "welfare exemption" for property used exclusively for religious, hospital, scientific, or charitable purposes and that is owned or operated by certain types of nonprofit entities, if certain qualifying criteria are met. Existing law defines "property used exclusively for religious, hospital, or charitable purposes" to include facilities in the course of construction on or after the first Monday of March 1954, as specified. Under existing property tax law, property that meets the above-described requirements that is used exclusively for rental housing and related facilities is entitled to a partial exemption, equal to that percentage of the value of the property that is equal to the percentage that the number of units serving lower income households represents of the total number of residential units, in any year that any of certain criteria apply, including that the acquisition, rehabilitation, development, or operation of the property, or any combination of these factors, is financed with tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds or general obligation bonds, or is financed by local, state, or federal loans or grants and the rents of the occupants who are lower income households do not exceed those prescribed by deed restrictions or regulatory agreements pursuant to the terms of the financing or financial assistance. This bill would expand this partial exemption to property acquired, rehabilitated, developed, or operated, or any combination of these factors, with financing from qualified 501(c) (3) bonds, as defined. Existing law provides that this partial exemption is also available for property that is subject to a legal restriction that provides that units designated for use by lower income households are continuously available to or occupied by lower income households, at rents not exceeding specified limits. For the 2018–19 fiscal year through the 2027–28 fiscal year, in the case of an eligible owner of property receiving a low-income housing tax credit under specified federal law, existing property tax law requires that a unit continue to be treated as occupied by a lower income household for these purposes if the occupants were lower income households on the lien date in the fiscal year in which their occupancy of the unit commenced and the unit continues to be rent restricted, notwithstanding an increase in the income of the occupants of the unit to 140% of area median income, adjusted for family size. This bill, from the 2024–25 fiscal year through the 2028–29 fiscal year, would additionally require that a unit continue to be treated as occupied by a lower income household, as described above, if the property is subject to an enforceable and verifiable agreement with a public agency, if occupants were lower income households on the lien date in the fiscal year in which their occupancy of the unit commenced, and the unit continues to be rent restricted, as described. The bill would require a claim for a welfare exemption pursuant to this requirement to be accompanied by an affidavit containing specified information regarding the units for which the exemption is claimed and would provide that the affidavit is not subject to public disclosure. (2) The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. (3) By adding to the duties of local tax officials, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. (4) Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. (5) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.