Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee Buffy Wicks with Governor Gavin Newsom.
The California State Assembly refused to move legislation forward that would not penalize fire victims if they decided to build 110% replacement of their original structure.
Today, County Assessor Jeff Prang wrote in a press release: “I am profoundly disappointed that AB 1253, authored by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank), a common-sense fire relief bill I proudly sponsored, was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee and will not move forward this legislative session.
“AB 1253 was crafted to bring fairness and clarity to wildfire victims who are attempting to rebuild their lives after devastating losses. Under current law, property owners who choose to rebuild using the emergency building codes that allow up to a 110% replacement of their original structure—may face an unanticipated property tax increase simply for complying with construction standards designed to help fire victims.
“Normally, under California law, rebuilding a structure beyond what is deemed ‘substantially equivalent,’ would result in an assessment change and a property tax increase. AB 1253 would have aligned assessment standards with these disaster-related building code provisions, protecting these homeowners from an added financial burden during an already traumatic recovery process.
“AB 1253 was endorsed by California Assessors Association, of which I serve as President, and received the support from the Los Angeles City Council and the Mayor of Pasadena.
“The failure to approve this bill is a setback for disaster recovery efforts in Los Angeles County and across California. Wildfire survivors deserve compassion and support, not penalties for rebuilding in conformance with the Governor’s Disaster Proclamation. We should be doing everything in our power to ease their path to recovery—not making it harder.
“I remain committed to pursuing legislative solutions that provide fairness and stability to property owners in times of crisis. AB 1253 was an important step toward that goal, and I will continue to fight for the protection our residents need and deserve.”
(Editor’s note: Send an email to every member of the appropriations committee and to Governor Gavin Newsom expressing your distress that they have no interest in helping fire victims. https://apro.assembly.ca.gov/members on that page click on “Contact Assembly Member Buffy Wick, etc.” You can call Governor Newsom (916) 445-2841 and tell him how disappointed you are and ask him what he will do to fix it.)
This is terrible news for us long time owners of small homes hoping to rebuild even the relatively minor 10% bigger than what we had…now it’s rebuild pretty much exactly what we had or face a huge new tax burden! And I thought we were being discriminated against before with the 110% rule…
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While I will do my part in advocating AB 1253, I urge PPCC to advocate on our behalf as well.
Major impact for the CA, county and city government is loss of tax revenue. The sooner we can help residents affected by these horrendous fires, the better for all concerns, including resumption of revenue from taxes. AB1253 provide one incentive to moving forward. Holding back not only hurts fire survivors, but deprive all residents of CA from tax resources to support community needs and economic growth. Don’t be miopic; think bigger and broadly.