BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 1534|
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                                   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  








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              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  







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              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.







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            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)








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          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


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