AB 985: Chiquita Canyon Landfill: property tax reassessment and penalties.

170.1.

(a) Notwithstanding any law, as authorized by subdivision (b) of Section 2 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution and paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 51, each property located within a five-mile radius of the center of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in the County of Los Angeles shall be reassessed so that the full cash value base of the property reflects any decline in value of the property arising from the Chiquita Canyon elevated temperature landfill event.

(b) Reassessments pursuant to this section shall be retroactive to the January 1, 2022, lien date. Following reassessment, the assessor shall send notice of the assessment value change to the taxpayer. The notice shall state both the amount of the assessment value change and, if property taxes were paid at the higher assessment value, that a refund claim may be filed with the auditor-controller pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 5096) of Part 9.

(c) For purposes of this subdivision, “Chiquita Canyon elevated temperature landfill event” means the elevated temperature landfill event that occurred beneath the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in the County of Los Angeles.

4217.

(a) Any person may elect to pay delinquent taxes in installments under this article at any time prior to 5 p.m. on the last business day prior to the date when the tax collector obtains the power to sell the property, except that if payment of delinquent taxes in installments is started under this article and the amount required to be paid in any fiscal year is not paid as required by this article, payments on property that, but for the installment redemption plan, would have been subject to a power of sale pursuant to Section 3691 during the calendar year in which default on the redemption plan occurs may not again be started under this article. All other payments may be started on or after July 1 of the fiscal year commencing after the fiscal year in which default occurred.

(b) (1) A person electing to pay delinquent taxes in installments may be subject to a fee for processing the person’s request.

(2) The fee for payment of delinquent taxes in installments to the tax collector may be established by ordinance by the board of supervisors. The fee shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 54985) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code and may be collected on the tax bill.

(c) A redemption plan for which all payments due on or before January 7, 2025, have been timely made pursuant to this chapter shall not be considered in default until April 10, 2030, provided that the property that is located within a five-mile radius of the center of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in the County of Los Angeles.

4837.5.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, taxes due, whether secured or unsecured, on escape assessments for prior fiscal years may be paid over a four-year period at the option of the assessee if: (1) the additional tax is over five hundred dollars ($500), and (2) a written request for installment payment is filed by the assessee with the tax collector prior to the time the second installment of taxes on the secured roll becomes delinquent, or by the last day of the month following the month in which the tax bill is mailed, whichever is later. The tax collector shall include with the property tax bill a notice of the payment provisions of this section. For unsecured taxes, the written request for installment payment shall be filed with the tax collector prior to the date on which those taxes become delinquent.

(b) If payment by installments is requested, 20 percent or more of the tax shall be paid no later than the deadline for filing the written request. The current taxes and prior year taxes with penalties and costs thereon shall be paid with or prior to the initial installment payment. In each succeeding fiscal year, the assessee shall pay, before the delinquency date of the second installment of current taxes on the secured roll, all current year taxes, and a sum at least sufficient to reduce the outstanding balance of the tax by 20 percent of the original amount. In the case of unsecured taxes, the required annual installment shall be paid on or before August 31.

(c) Interest at the rate of three-fourths of 1 percent per month, starting with the month following the date of the deadline for filing the written request, shall be applied to the outstanding balance, on the first day of the month, if the escape or underassessment was due, in whole or in part, to the error, omission, or other fault of the assessee. If the first day of any month falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the next additional three-fourths of one percent of interest shall be applied to the outstanding balance on the next business day.

(d) No additional penalties shall be charged as long as installment payments are made timely; and, in the case of secured taxes, as long as all payments are made timely, an affidavit regarding the property shall not be published pursuant to Section 3371.

(e) If any installment is not paid timely, or if the property on the secured roll becomes tax defaulted, or if the property changes ownership, or if taxes for the property on the unsecured roll are not paid before becoming delinquent, the balance of the tax remaining to be paid shall immediately become due and payable, and no further installment payments for that escape assessment or correction shall be authorized. The tax collector shall inform the auditor of the defaulted, off-roll installment plan and of the delinquent amount remaining unpaid. With regard to property on the secured roll that has not become tax defaulted, or property on the unsecured roll that has not become delinquent, in the event the payment is missed at the time the second or subsequent installment is due and the assessee or agent of the assessee can, by substantial evidence, convince the tax collector that the payment was not made through any fault of the assessee, the tax collector may reinstate the account upon receipt of a payment in an amount reflecting the installment plus interest under subdivision (c) to the date of reinstatement, provided that the payment is physically received by the tax collector prior to the time the property becomes tax defaulted or prior to June 30 of the current fiscal year, whichever occurs earlier.

(f) The auditor shall add the unpaid balance, plus all penalties and costs thereon, to the current roll, adjust the tax collector’s charge accordingly, and the remaining balance of the tax shall become subject to all of the provisions of this division applicable to delinquent taxes.

(g) The tax collector shall maintain records listing the current status of all the installment accounts authorized under this section. The status of each installment account shall be entered on the current roll and the tax collector may file for record with the county recorder a certificate pursuant to Section 2191.3.

(h) When the installment account is paid in full before 5 p.m. on June 30 of the year in which the account has become defaulted and the tax collector has filed for record a certificate of lien, the tax collector shall also file for record a release of that lien. Where the account is not paid in full until after June 30 of the year in which the account became defaulted, the filings of the certificates of lien and release of lien shall be subject to recording fees charged to the taxpayer.

(i) The tax collector may establish a fee for the actual cost of processing a request to pay escaped assessments in installments.

(j) The taxes due on a property making payments pursuant to an installment plan as provided in this section shall be suspended, shall not be collected, and shall not be considered delinquent until April 10, 2030, for property that is located within a five-mile radius of the center of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in the County of Los Angeles, provided that, on or before January 7, 2025, all payments required by the plan were timely made.

4985.2.

Any penalty, costs, or other charges resulting from tax delinquency may be canceled by the auditor or the tax collector upon a finding of any of the following:

(a) Failure to make a timely payment is due to reasonable cause and circumstances beyond the taxpayer’s control, and occurred notwithstanding the exercise of ordinary care in the absence of willful neglect, provided the principal payment for the proper amount of the tax due is made no later than June 30 of the fourth fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the tax became delinquent.

(b) There was an inadvertent error in the amount of payment made by the taxpayer, provided the principal payment for the proper amount of the tax due is made within 10 days after the notice of shortage is mailed by the tax collector.

(c) The cancellation was ordered by a local, state, or federal court.

(d) (1) Failure to make a timely payment is due to a documented hardship, as determined by the tax collector, arising from a shelter-in-place order if the principal payment for the proper amount of tax due is paid no later than June 30 of the fiscal year in which the payment first became delinquent.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “shelter-in-place order” means an order that meets all of the following criteria:

(A) The order is issued by the Governor or the local health officer of the city, county, or city and county in which the property is located or in which the property owner resides.

(B) The order is enforceable under Section 101029 or 120295 of the Health and Safety Code.

(C) The order requires all persons to remain in their place of residence, except for essential activities as defined in the order.

(e) (1) Failure to make a timely payment is due to a documented hardship, as determined by the tax collector, arising from the Chiquita Canyon elevated temperature landfill event, if the principal payment for the proper amount of tax due is paid no later than June 30 of the fourth fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the tax became delinquent.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “Chiquita Canyon elevated temperature landfill event” means an event that meets all of the following criteria:

(A) The elevated temperature landfill event occurred beneath the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in the County of Los Angeles and began in 2022.

(B) The Department of Toxic Substances Control issued an imminent and substantial endangerment order to the owners of the landfill.