Latest bill textAmended version, March 23, 2026 · 921 words
Amended IN Senate March 23, 2026
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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 1298
Introduced by Senator Jones
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February 20, 2026 |
An act to amend Section 5904 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation. An act to amend Section 206.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1298, as amended, Jones. Property taxpayers’ bill of rights. Real property tax: exemptions: religious services: parking.
Existing property tax law exempts from tax any real property that is reasonably and necessarily required for the parking of automobiles by persons engaged in religious activities. Existing law extends this exemption to apply to land and improvements regardless of whether the fee interest in the land and improvements is held by the religious organization using the land and improvements for parking purposes if certain requirements are met, including a requirement that the congregation of the church is no greater than 500 members.
This bill would remove the requirements relating to the size of the congregation. By imposing additional duties on local tax officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law, known as The Morgan Property Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, requires the State Board of Equalization to designate a Property Taxpayers’ Advocate to be responsible for, among other things, reviewing the adequacy of procedures for the distribution of information regarding property tax assessment matters and the adequacy of procedures for the prompt resolution of board, assessor, and taxpayer inquiries, and taxpayer complaints and problems. Existing law requires the advocate to report at least annually to the executive officer of the board on the adequacy of existing procedures, or the need for additional or revised procedures, to accomplish the objectives of the property taxpayers’ bill of rights. Existing law provides that nothing in the property taxpayers’ bill of rights requires the board to reassign property tax program responsibilities within its existing organizational structure.
This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that latter provision.
NOYES Local Program: NOYES
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 206.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read:206.1.
(a) Pursuant to the authority of subdivision (d) of Section 4 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, and in accordance with subdivision (b) of this section, all real property that is necessarily and reasonably required for the parking of automobiles of persons who are attending religious services, or are engaged in religious services or worship or any religious activity, is exempt from taxation.
(b) For purposes of the exemption established by subdivision (a), all of the following shall apply:
(1) “Real property” means land and improvements or a possessory interest in land and improvements.
(2) The real property is not required to be contiguous to the land on which the church or other structure used for religious services or as the place of worship or religious activity is located.
(3) The real property is not at other times used for commercial purposes. For purposes of this paragraph, “commercial purposes” does not include use of the property for the parking of vehicles or bicycles, the revenue from which does not exceed the ordinary and necessary costs of maintaining the real property.
(4) The exemption shall apply to otherwise qualifying land and improvements regardless of whether the land and improvements are owned by the church, religious denomination, or sect using the land and improvements for the parking of automobiles by persons described in subdivision (a). However, the exemption shall apply to land and improvements that are not owned by the church, religious denomination, or sect using the land and improvements for the parking of automobiles by persons described in subdivision (a) only as long as all of the following conditions are met:
(A)The congregation of the church, religious denomination, or sect is no greater than 500 members.
(B)
(A)
The church, religious denomination, or sect is engaged in a lease of the land and improvements for the exclusive purpose of the parking of automobiles by persons described in subdivision (a).
(C)
(B)
The church, religious denomination, or sect is responsible, under the terms of its lease with the fee owner of the land and improvements, for paying the property taxes levied on the land and improvements. For purposes of this subparagraph, paying property taxes levied on land and improvements includes reimbursement paid to the fee owner of the land and improvements for those taxes.
(D)
(C)
The real property is used exclusively for the parking of automobiles by persons described in subdivision (a).
(E)
(D)
The fee owner of the real property and the county agree that the fee owner shall pay the total amount of taxes that would be levied on the real property for the current fiscal year and the first two subsequent fiscal years in the absence of a grant of exemption pursuant to this paragraph for the current fiscal year, if the real property is used for any purpose other than that specified in subparagraph
(D) (C) during either of those two subsequent fiscal years.
