AB 1971: Property tax: exclusion from reassessment: home hardening retrofitting improvements.
The bill aims to clarify the definition of "newly constructed" in relation to seismic retrofitting improvements under California law. It seeks to exclude home hardening retrofitting improvements from reassessment as new construction, provided they do not add square footage, change the property's use, or include substantial rehabilitation. This change aims to help homeowners avoid reassessment of their property values after making seismic retrofitting improvements, which can be costly. The bill requires the state board of equalization to adopt rules and regulations to implement this change.
| May. 14, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| May. 14, 2026 | Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended. (Page 5030.) |
| May. 13, 2026 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Apr. 23, 2026 | Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr. 22, 2026 | Read second time and amended. |
| Amended IN Assembly April 22, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 25, 2026 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Bennett (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ahrens, Bauer-Kahan, Connolly, Harabedian, and Hart) (Coauthor: Senator Stern) |
February 13, 2026 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 74.1 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:74.1.
(a) For the purposes of this section, “home hardening retrofitting improvement” means an improvement that complies with the provisions of the most recent edition of Chapters 5 and 6 of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (Part 7 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), or any successor chapter.(a)For purposes of this section, all of the following apply:
(1)(A)“Home hardening retrofitting improvements” includes, but is not limited to, the installation of Class A roofs and multiplane windows, vent screening, the establishment of defensible space, and the use of fire-resistant materials for the construction or reconstruction of fences, decks, sidings, eaves, and doors pursuant to Chapter 7A of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
(B)“Home hardening retrofitting improvements” does not include modifications that expand the square footage of the property.
(2)“Class A roof” means roof assemblies that are effective against severe fire test exposure and which are identified as class A by an approved testing agency.
(3)“Defensible space” means the area adjacent to a structure or dwelling where wildfire prevention or protection practices are implemented to provide defense from an approaching wildfire or to minimize the spread of a structure fire to wildlands or surrounding areas.
(4)“Fire-resistant materials” means a type of building material that complies with Section 704A of Chapter 7 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
(5)“Multiplane windows” means windows constructed of multiplane glazing with a minimum of one tempered plane meeting the requirements of Section 2406 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations or that have a fire-resistance rating of not less than 20 minutes when tested.
(b)The State Board of Equalization shall adopt rules and regulations, as a part of Property Tax Rule 463 relating to newly constructed property, clarifying that home hardening retrofitting improvements that do not add square footage, do not change the property’s use, do not include structural reconfigurations, and do not include substantial rehabilitation shall not trigger reassessment as new construction.