Section 1604 Of Article 1. Generally From California Revenue And Taxation Code >> Division 1. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 1.
1604
. (a) (1) In counties of the first class, annually, on the
fourth Monday in September, the county board shall meet to equalize
the assessment of property on the local roll. It shall continue to
meet for that purpose, from time to time, until the business of
equalization is disposed of.
(2) In all other counties, annually, on the third Monday in July,
the county board shall meet to equalize the assessment of property on
the local roll. It shall continue to meet for that purpose, from
time to time, until the business of equalization is disposed of.
(b) (1) An application for a reduction in an assessment filed
pursuant to Section 1603 shall also constitute a sufficient claim for
refund, if the applicant states in the application that the
application is also intended to constitute a claim for refund
pursuant to the provisions of Section 5097.
(2) The county board shall have no power to receive or hear any
application for a reduction in an escaped assessment made pursuant to
Section 531.1 nor a penal assessment levied in respect thereto, nor
to reduce those assessments.
(c) If the county board fails to hear evidence and fails to make a
final determination on the application for reduction in assessment
of property within two years of the timely filing of the application,
the applicant's opinion of value as reflected on the application for
reduction in assessment shall be the value upon which taxes are to
be levied for the tax year or tax years covered by the application,
unless either of the following occurs:
(1) The applicant and the county board mutually agree in writing,
or on the record, to an extension of time for the hearing.
(2) The application for reduction is consolidated for hearing with
another application by the same applicant with respect to which an
extension of time for the hearing has been granted pursuant to
paragraph (1). In no case shall the application be consolidated
without the applicant's written agreement after the two-year time
period has passed or after an extension of the two-year time period
previously agreed to by the applicant has expired.
The reduction in assessment reflecting the applicant's opinion of
value shall not be made, however, until two years after the close of
the filing period during which the timely application was filed.
Further, this subdivision shall not apply to applications for
reductions in assessments of property where the applicant has failed
to provide full and complete information as required by law or where
litigation is pending directly relating to the issues involved in the
application.
(d) (1) When the applicant's opinion of value, as stated on the
application, has been placed on the assessment roll pursuant to
subdivision (c), and the application requested a reduction in the
base year value of an assessment, the applicant's opinion of value
shall remain on the roll until the county board makes a final
determination on the application. The value so determined by the
county board, plus appropriate adjustments for the inflation factor,
shall be entered on the assessment roll for the fiscal year in which
the value is determined. No increased or escape taxes other than
those required by a purchase, change in ownership, or new
construction, or resulting from application of the inflation factor
to the applicant's opinion of value shall be levied for the tax years
during which the county board failed to act.
(2) When the applicant's opinion of value has been placed on the
assessment roll pursuant to subdivision (c) for any application other
than an application requesting a reduction in base year value, the
applicant's opinion of value shall be enrolled on the assessment roll
for the tax year or tax years covered by that application.
(e) The county board shall notify the applicant in writing of any
decision by that board not to hold a hearing on his or her
application for reduction in assessment within the two-year period
specified in subdivision (c). This notice shall also inform the
applicant that the applicant's opinion of value as reflected on the
application for reduction in assessment shall, as a result of the
county board's failure to hold a hearing within the prescribed time
period, be the value upon which taxes are to be levied in the absence
of the application of either paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision
(c).