(1) Existing property tax law, except as provided, establishes a rebuttable presumption regarding the burden of proof in favor of a taxpayer or assessee who has supplied the required information to the assessor in an administrative hearing involving, among other things, the imposition of a tax on, or an assessment of, an owner-occupied single-family dwelling, as defined.
This bill would, instead, establish a rebuttable presumption, as described above, in an administrative hearing involving, among other things, the imposition of a tax on, or assessment of, residential real property. The bill would define residential real property to mean real property improved with one or more units used or intended for human habitation, including single-family residences, condominiums, cooperative units, duplexes, and multifamily residential property with fewer than 4 units, and any land and appurtenant improvements thereon.
(2) Existing property tax law prohibits a reduction in an assessment on the local roll from being made unless the party affected or the party's agent makes and files with the county board a verified, written application showing the facts claimed to require the reduction and the applicant's opinion of the full value of the property.
This bill would prohibit an assessor, tax collector, or auditor from charging or collecting a fee for that application for homes valued less than $2,500,000.
(3) Existing property tax law, subject to certain exceptions, makes the applicant's opinion of value, as reflected on an application for reduction in assessment of property, the value upon which taxes are to be levied for the tax year or tax years covered by the application if the county board fails to hear evidence and fails to make a final determination on the application within 2 years of the timely filing of the application.
This bill would reduce that time period to hear evidence and to make a final determination to within 6 months of the timely filing of the application. The bill would also make conforming changes.
Existing property tax law prohibits a reduction in assessment reflecting the applicant's opinion of value from being made until 2 years after the close of the filing period during which the timely application was filed. Existing property law, notwithstanding the 2-year time period to hear evidence and make a final determination described above, or any other law, retroactively extends the 2-year deadline by which a county board is required to render a final determination on a qualified application, as defined, until December 31, 2021, as provided.
This bill would remove those provisions.
(4) By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(5) This bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern and, therefore, apply to all counties, including charter counties.
(6) 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Statutes affected:
SB 1402: 167 RTC, 1603 RTC, 1604 RTC
02/20/26 - Introduced: 167 RTC, 1603 RTC, 1604 RTC