BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1534| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1534 Author: Committee on Revenue and Taxation AmendedAmended:4/30/15 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/24/15 AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Moorlach, Pavley SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/27/15 AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/2/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Assessment analyst: certification SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill bars assessors employees from making decisions regarding changes of ownership without holding a valid assessment analyst certificate; and specifies the certificate training program. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1) Creates the Board of Equalization (BOE) to equalize property tax rates and assessment practices among counties. 2) Directs BOE to administer the property tax certification AB 1534 Page 2 program, which imposes certification and annual training requirements on property tax appraisers and auditor-appraisers who are county employees. This bill: 1) Bars any state or county employee from making decisions with regard to changes in ownership or property tax exemptions, except the homeowners' exemption, unless he or she is the holder of a valid BOE assessment analyst certificate. 2) Establishes a process to certify an assessment analyst, and creates three additional certificates: temporary, interim, and advanced. To implement the program, BOE must: a) Create an examination for applicants seeking an assessment analyst certificate, and may contract with the California Department of Human Resources to give the examinations. b) Prepare the exam with the advice and assistance of a committee of five assessors selected by the California Assessors' Association. c) Issue a certificate to only to persons who attain a passing grade in the examination and demonstrate that he or she is competent to make change in ownership or exemption decisions, but allows individuals denied a certificate to ask for a review under the Administrative Procedures Act d) Exempts individuals currently holding a valid appraiser's or advanced appraiser's certificate from its requirements. 3) Requires every certified assessment analyst to complete at least 24 hours of continuing education training conducted or approved by BOE each year; however, any training time in excess of the 24-hour minimum that is accumulated in any one year is carried over as credit for future training requirements, with a limit of three years in which the carryover time may be credited. Failure to complete training shall constitute grounds for revocation of a AB 1534 Page 3 certificate, and a proceeding to revoke shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. 4) Requires BOE issue an advanced assessment analyst certificate for an applicant that has held an assessment analysts certificate for at least three years and has: a) Completed an advanced course of study prepared by BOE with the assistance of five assessors selected by the California Assessors' Association, and passed an advanced level examination. b) Requires every advanced assessment analyst to complete at least 12 hours of continuing education training conducted or approved by BOE each year; however, any training time in excess of the 12-hour minimum that is accumulated in any one year is carried over as credit for future training requirements, with a limit of two years in which the carryover time may be credited. Failure to complete training shall constitute grounds for revocation of a certificate, and a proceeding to revoke shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. 5) Allows BOE to issue a temporary certificate to a person who is newly employed by the state or county to allow the person time to pass the exam, but it can't last more than one year, unless the person has been duly elected or appointed to the office of assessor, but bars BOE from renewing a temporary certificate. 6) Allows BOE to issue an interim certificate to a person who is currently employed by the state or county who is making change in ownership or exemption decisions to allow the person time to pass the exam, but prohibits BOE from renewing, or issuing an interim certificate for a duration that exceeds four years, unless the person has been duly elected or appointed to the office of assessor. 7) Requires applicants to disclose financial interests in any legal entity at the time of initial certification, and must complete the form annually, and deems a duplicate of a filing to the Fair Political Practices Commission to meet the requirement. AB 1534 Page 4 8) Bars BOE from charging counties to implement the program. 9) Clarifies that the bill's provisions do not impede an assessor from managing his or her staff resources efficiently, and in a manner that allows non-certificated staff to prepare and work with exemption applications and change in ownership documents, provided that the non-certificated staff are not responsible for making exemption or change in ownership decisions. 10) Makes legislative findings and declarations supporting its purposes, and renumbers the section of law allowing for contract employees. Related Legislation AB 1534 is almost identical to AB 2756 (Committee on Revenue and Taxation, 2014), which was approved by the Legislature, but subsequently vetoed by the Governor. In his veto message, Governor Brown stated that state providing training and certification should be something the assessors "can and should be doing without a state mandate." In response, AB 1534 states that its provisions only become effective in counties or cities and counties that have enacted a resolution upon recommendation of the assessor to require the measure's certification. While Legislative Counsel didn't key either bill a state-mandated local program, granting counties the authority to opt-in to the measure's requirements speaks directly to the Governor's message. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No According to Senate Appropriations, AB 1534 would result in BOE incurring annual costs of up to $175,000 (General Fund) annually to implement the costs of the bill. BOE indicates that the bill would not impact property tax revenues. SUPPORT: (Verified8/28/15) AB 1534 Page 5 California Assessors Association Organization of SMUD Employees San Bernardino Public Employees Association San Luis Obispo County Employees Association OPPOSITION: (Verified8/28/15) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the Author, "Since current law requires appraisers to be certified, similar certification procedures are needed for state and local government employees making decisions in regard to change in ownership and property tax exemptions. Change in ownership and exemption decisions are highly complex, requiring a thorough understanding of different legal documents, statutes, regulations, and court decisions. This bill is intended to ensure that employees making change in ownership and exemption decisions are adequately trained and educated. ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/2/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez Prepared by:Colin Grinnell / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119 8/31/15 16:57:06 **** END **** AB 1534 Page 6