AgdaPkt 2003-06-09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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AB1221 from page ................ ............................... Among the measures passed by the committee was AB 1221, the bill by Darrell Steinberg that swaps half of local governments' sales taxes for an equal amount of property tax. The author an- nounced these recent amendments to the bill: • AB 1221 would become contingent upon voter enactment of a Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) to protect the amount of sales tax and property tax that cities and counties receive after the swap. Cities and counties would be constitutionally guaranteed a rate of at least .5% of the Bradley - Burns sales tax. Property tax revenues in the base year, 2005, would be protected and guaranteed to cities and counties. This property tax revenue amount would be the new base amount determined by AB 1221. • The base year for calculating the swap would be the year following the enactment of the constitutional amendment. If the ACA is voted on in 2004, the base year would be 2005. This is one year later than the base year in the original version of the bill. • Amendments to AB 1221 would allow cities and counties to adjust their base year by one year At their discretion, jurisdictions could average the base year and the year following the base year to determine their new base year swap amount. Amendments specify that AB 1221 that the property tax increase resulting from the swap will not impact redevelopment areas. All new property tax revenue resulting from the swap will be allo- cated directly to cities and counties and not distrib- uted in redevelopment areas. Details to Follow... There is no specific language available to analyze. The description of the amendments was pulled from a brief summary of the legislation, as amended. It is not entirely clear how the amend- ments actually work until the language is available. We also understand that amendments have gene into the bill that deals with a Proposition 98 problem the bill faced. In short, Proposition 98 would have required almost half of the increased sales tax going to the state as a result of the swap, to be dedica'ed to K -12 education. Again, until language has been released, this is difficult to confirm. Next Steps The bill goes next to the floor of the Assembly. The League remains opposed to the measure, unless amended to meet several concerns with the legislation. The League is convening both a techni- cal group and a policy croup to better flesh out the details of the legislation. QUOTES from page 3 • . . 000000000606 that's even bigger: the leadership deficit." The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 5126103, Flat broke — Governor's budget plan won't fix long term fiscal problems. "In a best case scenario, on June 30 the Legislature will pass and the governor will sign a state spending plan for the fiscal year that starts the following day. But lawmakers won't be able to rest on their laurels." The Los Angeles Times, 5/27103, You Don't Have It So Bad. "Rock -like opposition to any tax increases to help balance the faltering state budget is largely rooted in the claim that Californians are overtaxed, with the implication that taxes keep going up. No one likes taxes, but the fact is that California's state and local tax load is about average among the 50 states and less than average in several important categories." The Fresno Bee, 5128/03, Naming Names — Governor Must Accept Responsibility for State's Budget Mess. "Having dug a budget hole tens of billions of dollars deep, the Legislature and governor have abandoned hope of climbing out in one year." The Los Angeles Daily News, 5/28/03, Stub- born Partisanship May Bankrupt California. "Despite an apathetic public, the enormity of the California budget crisis is slowly dawning on state and local officials who at last realize that the state's economic future is at risk. Unfortunately, the two state legislators who Continued on Page 7 Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.rirg PRIORITY FOCUS/PAGE 5