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

Senator Niello's property tax relief measure expands options for California property owners affected by natural disasters, allowing county boards of supervisors to extend the deadline for transferring property tax base year values by up to three additional years. Under current law, owners whose properties are substantially damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster have five years to transfer their base year value to a replacement property within the same county. The proposed extension would apply to properties in counties declared as disaster areas by the Governor on or after January 1, 2025.

The bill maintains existing requirements for replacement properties, including provisions that they must be comparable in size, utility and function to the damaged property. Properties qualify as "substantially damaged" when either the land or improvements sustain physical damage exceeding 50% of their full cash value before the disaster, including damage from permanently restricted access. While the measure provides additional flexibility for affected property owners, it specifies that local agencies will not receive state reimbursement for any resulting property tax revenue losses.