Property taxation: transfer of base year value: disaster relief.

Senator Niello's property tax relief measure empowers county boards of supervisors to extend the timeline for transferring property tax base year values when disasters strike their jurisdictions. Under current law, property owners whose real estate sustains substantial damage from governor-declared disasters have five years to transfer their original tax basis to a replacement property within the same county. The proposed legislation would allow counties to extend this period by up to three additional years for disasters declared after January 1, 2025.

The bill maintains existing parameters for qualifying transfers - properties must be "substantially damaged or destroyed," defined as physical damage exceeding 50% of the land's or improvements' full cash value before the disaster. Replacement properties must be "comparable," meaning similar in size, utility and function, with values not exceeding 120% of the damaged property's worth. County assessors would continue following established procedures for calculating replacement base year values based on these comparisons.

While expanding timeline flexibility for affected property owners, the measure explicitly prohibits state reimbursement to local agencies for any resulting property tax revenue reductions. As a tax levy, the bill would take effect immediately upon enactment, allowing counties to implement extensions through local ordinances for future qualifying disasters.