An act to amend Section 4222.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation.
Summary
AB 1416 amends Revenue and Taxation Code Section 4222.5 to expand eligibility for a one-year deferral of payments under a property tax installment plan in counties that have been declared a state of emergency or disaster due to a major misfortune or calamity. Under prior law, the installment plan had to already be in existence when the deferral was requested. The bill adds a second qualifying circumstance: the taxpayer may also be eligible if they had already submitted an application for the installment plan at the time the deferral is requested.
The bill continues to require that the taxpayer show substantial disaster damage, file the deferral application by September 1 of the following fiscal year, and not be receiving other disaster relief. It also preserves the rule that interest may still accrue on deferred installment payments and be due when the deferred amount is paid.
Impact
AB 1416 makes a targeted change to California property tax relief law by broadening access to disaster-related deferrals for delinquent property tax installment plans. The practical effect is to help taxpayers in declared disaster counties who were in the process of entering an installment plan, but had not yet finalized it when they requested deferral, by treating a submitted application similarly to an existing plan for eligibility purposes. The bill also removes an obsolete definition from the statute, but otherwise leaves the structure of Section 4222.5 intact.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It moved through committee and floor votes unanimously, was placed on the consent calendar, and ultimately became chaptered without recorded opposition in the provided voting history. That pattern suggests general agreement that the measure is a modest administrative and taxpayer-relief adjustment rather than a major policy change.
Contention
No significant opposition is reflected in the available record. The only substantive policy issue apparent from the text is the scope of eligibility for the one-year deferral: AB 1416 expands relief to taxpayers who have applied for an installment plan but have not yet been enrolled. Any concern would likely center on whether that expansion could broaden disaster tax relief beyond the prior narrower standard, but the bill retains the existing safeguards requiring disaster damage, a timely application, and no duplicate relief.