Article 1. Property Taxation of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 10. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 7. >> Article 1.

The board may provide for the assessment, levy, and collection of taxes by the district, including the sale of property to the district for delinquent taxes, with penalties, interest, and cost.

The board shall, at the time of fixing the general tax levy and in the manner provided for the general tax levy, levy and collect annually until the general obligation bonds of the district are paid, or until there is a sum in the treasury of the district set apart for that purpose to meet all sums coming due for principal and interest on the bonds as they become due and payable, a tax sufficient to pay the annual interest on the bonds and such part of the principal thereof, including any sinking fund installments required by any of the district's agreements with its bondholders, as becomes due before the proceeds of a tax levied at the next general tax levy will be available for such purposes.

The taxes required to be levied and collected on account of interest, principal, and sinking fund of general obligation bonds of the district shall be in addition to all other taxes levied for district purposes, and shall be collected at the time and in the same manner as other district taxes are collected, and be used for no other purpose than the payment of the bonds and accruing interest.

The tax rate for taxes levied in any fiscal year for all district purposes other than taxes levied pursuant to Section 29121, shall not exceed five cents ($0.05) on each one hundred dollars ($100) of assessed valuation of taxable property within the district, except the tax rate for the first year of levy may include an additional amount sufficient to repay temporary borrowing incurred pursuant to Article 5 of Chapter 8 of this part. Taxes levied pursuant to this section for maintenance and operation of rapid transit facilities shall be supplementary to the revenues derived from such facilities and shall be limited to actual requirements.

All assessments shall be made for the district by the State Board of Equalization and the county assessors, and all taxes shall be collected for the district by the tax collectors, of the counties in which the district is situated.

Each county auditor shall, on or before the third Monday in August of each year, transmit to the board a statement in writing showing the total value of all property within the district as equalized.

The board shall, on or before the first weekday in September, or if such weekday falls upon a holiday then on the first business day thereafter, fix the rate of taxes, designating the number of cents upon each hundred dollars, using as a basis the value of property transmitted to the board by the county auditors, which rate of taxation shall be sufficient to raise the amount previously fixed by the board. These acts by the board shall constitute a valid assessment of the property and a valid levy of the taxes so fixed.

If in the determination of any tax rate a fraction of a cent occurs, the board may adopt a rate ending in the next higher tenth of one cent ($0.001). An excess over the amount specified in the budget, arising from the use of the tenth of one cent tax rate, is not a violation of this chapter. Any cash collected resulting from such excess or from an excess resulting from any other cause shall not invalidate the levies but shall be applied in the next succeeding budget year as available surplus unless its expenditure is otherwise authorized by law.

The board shall immediately after fixing the rate of taxes as above provided transmit to the county auditors of the counties in which the district is situated a statement of the rate of taxes fixed by the board.

The district's taxes so levied shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as county taxes. When collected the net amount, ascertained as provided in this article, shall be paid to the treasurer of the district, under the general requirements and penalties provided by law for the settlement of other taxes. The district may adopt the alternative procedure of tax collection and apportionment established by Chapter 3 (commencing at Section 4701) of Part 8 of Division 1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code and any amendments thereof; provided, however, that the district may thereafter abandon said alternative procedure at the end of any fiscal year of the district.

Whenever any real property situate in any district which has availed itself of the provisions of Section 29124 has been sold for taxes and has been redeemed, the money paid for redemption shall be apportioned and paid to the district by the county treasurers receiving it in the proportion which the tax due to the district bears to the total tax for which the property was sold.

The compensation to be charged by and paid to any county for the performance of services under this chapter shall be fixed by agreement between the board of supervisors of the county and the board. The compensation shall in no event exceed one-half of 1 percent of all money collected for the district. The compensation collected by the county shall be placed to the credit of the county salary fund.

All taxes levied under this part are a lien on the property on which they are levied. Unless the board has by ordinance otherwise provided, the enforcement of the collection of such taxes shall be in the same manner and by the same means provided by law for the enforcement of liens for county taxes, all the provisions of law relating to the enforcement of the latter being made applicable to this part, so far as consistent therewith.