Article 4. Maximum Property Tax Rates of California Revenue And Taxation Code >> Division 1. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 4.

The maximum property tax rates for local agencies shall be those established pursuant to the provisions of this article or of Article 6, 7 or 8 of this chapter (commencing with Section 2201) and shall exclude the following from the determination thereof: (1) any property tax rate levied to pay the cost of interest and redemption charges on bonded or other indebtedness which was authorized prior to the effective date of this section, together with any reserve or sinking funds required in connection therewith; (2) any property tax rate levied to pay the cost of interest and redemption charges on bonded or other indebtedness which was authorized after the effective date of this section by the voters of such agency, together with any reserve or sinking funds required in connection therewith; (3) any property tax rate levied to pay the cost of interest charges on notes of a local agency issued in anticipation of bonds, if such bonds were authorized prior to the effective date of this section or were authorized by the voters of such agency after the effective date of this section, and if the principal amount of any such notes is payable only from proceeds of the sale of such bonds; (4) any property tax rate levied to pay the cost of interest and redemption charges on refunding bonds or on bonds issued pursuant to Section 53541 of the Government Code or Section 71960 of the Water Code, together with any reserve or sinking funds required in connection therewith; (5) any property tax rate levied to pay the cost of retirement and pension benefits or plans which are being provided pursuant to provisions of a city or county charter or which have been specifically approved by the voters of a local agency; (6) any property tax rate levied to pay the cost of payments or contributions which are required to be made to a special fund by specific provision of a city or county charter; (7) any property tax rate levied pursuant to a city charter procedure ordinance for the purpose of paying principal and interest on assessment bonds or for the purpose of paying annual costs of maintenance and operation of improvements financed pursuant to city charter procedure, when the levy is made in relation to benefits derived and not in accordance with the last equalized city or county assessment roll; and (8) any property tax rate levied on behalf of a county superintendent of schools.

For the purpose of establishing maximum property tax rates, whenever there is a comparison of rates between two or more years that have different assessment ratios or methods of expressing the tax rate, the rates and ratios shall be adjusted as provided in Section 135.

The maximum property tax rate which may be levied by any county for general purposes shall be the combination of all countywide property tax rates which were levied for general county purposes in either the 1971-1972 or the 1972-1973 fiscal year, at the option of the board of supervisors.

(a) Any county which was providing structural fire protection services in unincorporated areas of the county during the 1971-1972 or the 1972-1973 fiscal years and which did not levy a property tax for such services as provided in Section 25643 of the Government Code, may establish a maximum property tax rate for such areas as provided in this section. The maximum property tax rate for such areas shall be determined in the manner provided in subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 2264.
  (b) Whenever a maximum property tax rate has been established for an unincorporated area as provided in subdivision (a), such unincorporated area shall be a "special district", as provided in Section 2216, for all purposes of this chapter.

Whenever a county board of supervisors adopts the provisions of Sections 42649 and 85265.5 of the Education Code and thereby transfers certain duties of the county auditor to the county superintendent of schools as provided therein, the maximum tax rate of the county shall, commencing with the fiscal year following the effective date of such transfer, be decreased by an amount which, if levied in such fiscal year, would produce annual revenues equivalent to the expenditures from the county general fund used to provide such services of the county auditor in the fiscal year immediately prior to the date of the transfer of functions to the county superintendent of schools.

The maximum property tax rate which may be levied by any city shall be:
  (1) For general law cities, the aggregate of all citywide property tax rates which were levied for general city purposes in either the 1971-1972 or the 1972-1973 fiscal year, at the option of the city council; provided that if the aggregate of such property tax rates was less than one dollar ($1) in both the 1971-1972 and the 1972-1973 fiscal years, the maximum property tax rate for such cities shall be one dollar ($1). In addition, any property tax rate authorized by the voters of a city as provided in Section 43068 of the Government Code which was not levied as part of the aggregate of citywide taxes in the fiscal year selected by the city council pursuant to this subdivision may also be levied.
  (2) For charter cities, the maximum rate, or rates, specified in the charter; provided that any rate in excess of such maximum rate which is authorized by Section 43072 of the Government Code or by Section 35 of Chapter 1 of the Statutes of 1968 (First Extraordinary Session) and which was levied during either the 1971-1972 or the 1972-1973 fiscal year may continue to be levied. If no maximum rate is specified in the charter, or if a maximum rate is specified but such rate is applicable only to a portion of the purposes for which such city is levying an ad valorem property tax, the maximum rate shall be the rate levied by the city for either the 1971-1972 or the 1972-1973 fiscal year, at the option of the city council. In addition, if the voters of a charter city, pursuant to provisions of the charter or of general law, have authorized an additional rate, such augmented rate shall be the maximum property tax rate.

A local agency or district formed by a city after the effective date of this chapter to take over and perform services theretofore provided by a county service area for the same territory, may adjust, or cause to be adjusted, upwards, its maximum property tax rate in that territory by an amount equal to the tax rate previously levied, or which could have been levied, by the county service area (including any additional levies permitted by Section 2280), had it continued to provide those services for the territory provided that the county service area is no longer empowered to tax or does not tax the territory covered by the city's local agency or district.

The maximum property tax rate which may be levied by, or on behalf of, a special district formed prior to January 1, 1972, shall be:
  (1) The maximum property tax rate authorized by the enabling statute under which the district is organized; provided that any rate in excess of such maximum rate which is authorized by Section 35 of Chapter 1 of the Statutes of 1968 (First Extraordinary Session) and which was levied during either the 1971-1972 or the 1972-1973 fiscal year may continue to be levied.
  (2) If no such maximum property tax rate is provided by statute, or if a maximum property tax rate is provided but such rate is applicable only to a portion of the purposes for which such district is levying an ad valorem property tax, the maximum rate shall be the rate levied by, or on behalf of, the district for either the 1971-1972 or the 1972-1973 fiscal year, at the option of the governing body of the district. If a district operates on a calendar year, the maximum rate which may be levied pursuant to this subdivision shall be that levied in either calendar 1972 or calendar 1973, at the option of the governing body of the district.
  (3) In addition, if the voters of a district, pursuant to provisions of the enabling statute under which the district is organized, have authorized an additional rate, such augmented rate shall be the maximum property tax rate.

This section shall apply only to special districts formed between January 1, 1972, and the effective date of this section.
  (a) For special districts the governing body of which is separately and directly elected by the qualified voters of the district, in the event that a maximum property tax rate cannot be established for such district pursuant to the provisions of Section 2263, the governing body may, by resolution, apply to the board of supervisors of the county in which the district, or the major portion of the assessed value thereof, is located to determine the maximum tax rate. Upon receipt of such a resolution the board of supervisors shall, by resolution, determine the maximum tax rate for the district. Such rate shall be sufficient to permit the district to provide the programs and services for which it was formed.
  (b) For special districts the governing body of which is a city council, a board of supervisors or is appointed to office, in the event that a maximum tax rate cannot be established for such district pursuant to the provisions of Section 2263, the governing body may, by resolution, apply to the local agency formation commission in the county in which the district is located to determine the maximum tax rate. Upon receipt of such a resolution the local agency formation commission shall hold a hearing and shall determine the maximum tax rate for the district. Such rate shall be sufficient to permit the district to provide the programs and services for which it was formed. Procedures for holding such a hearing and making such a determination shall follow, as nearly as is practicable, the procedures provided in the District Reorganization Act (Division 1 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 6 of the Government Code) for hearing and determination by a local agency formation commission.

After the effective date of this section the formation of a special district shall not be effective for property tax purposes unless a maximum property tax rate has been established by the voters of the district pursuant to the provisions of Article 6 (commencing with Section 2285) provided, however, that the maximum property tax rate for a maintenance district formed pursuant to the Improvement Act of 1911 or the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913 may be established prior to or concurrently with the formation of such district by any petition or by supplemental written consent executed by property owners holding at least 60 percent in area of the land to be benefited. The procedures for such petition or supplemental written consent shall follow the procedures provided in the Majority Protest Act of 1931.

Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of Section 2263, the maximum property tax rate which may be levied by, or on behalf of, a harbor district shall be the greater of three cents ($0.03) per one hundred dollars ($100) of assessed valuation or the rate levied by, or on behalf of, the district for either the 1971-1972 or the 1972-1973 fiscal year, at the option of the governing body of the district. If a district operates on a calendar year, the maximum rate which may be levied pursuant to this subdivision shall be the greater of three cents ($0.03) per one hundred dollars ($100) of assessed valuation or that levied in either calendar 1972 or calendar 1973, at the option of the governing body of the district. Beginning in the 1981-82 fiscal year, the maximum property tax rate which may be levied shall be the greater of 75/10,000 of 1 percent of assessed valuation or the rate levied by, or on behalf of, the district for either the 1971-72 or the 1972-73 fiscal year, at the option of the governing body of the district. If a district operates on a calendar year, the maximum rate which may be levied pursuant to this section shall be greater of 75/10,000 of 1 percent of assessed valuation or that levied in either calendar year 1972 or calendar year 1973, at the option of the governing body of the district. In addition, if the voters of a district, pursuant to provisions of the enabling statute under which the district is organized, have authorized an additional rate, such augmented rate shall be the maximum property tax rate.

In the event that a local agency elects to follow the provisions of Part 3.5 (commencing with Section 2131) of this division, for levying a property tax rate in certain special districts, the maximum property tax rate for such districts shall be determined as provided in this section. For all purposes of this chapter, such maximum property tax rate shall be applied to the total assessed value within such district. In such situations the actual property tax rate for such a district shall be levied in each county in which the district is situated as provided in Part 3.5 without regard to the limitations provided elsewhere in this article.
  (a) If a maximum property tax rate is provided in the enabling statute under which the district is organized, the maximum property tax rate for the district shall be the rate provided by statute.
  (b) If no maximum property tax rate is provided by statute, the maximum property tax rate for such a district shall be the rate determined by dividing the receivable property tax revenue of the district by the total assessed value within the district. The governing body of a district may elect, at its option, to use either the 1971-1972 or the 1972-1973 fiscal year as the basis for determining the maximum property tax rate pursuant to this subdivision.
  (c) As used in this section:
  (1) "Receivable property tax revenue" means the amount of revenue from ad valorem property taxation which a district would have received in any fiscal year if the district's ad valorem property taxes for such year had been collected for all taxable property within the district, without regard to delinquencies, penalties or other modifications or adjustments.
  (2) "Total assessed value within the district" means all assessed value in each county in which the district is located which is subject to ad valorem property taxation by, or on behalf of, such district; plus the assessed value in each such county which is attributable to the homeowners' property tax exemption and to the business inventory property tax exemption and which otherwise would have been subject to ad valorem property taxation by, or on behalf of, such district.

In lieu of the maximum property tax rates established by other provisions of this article, the voters of a local agency may establish a maximum property tax rate for such agency pursuant to the provisions of Article 6 (commencing with Section 2285).

This section shall provide an alternate procedure to the other provisions of this chapter for establishing maximum property tax rates. The maximum property tax rate which may be levied by, or on behalf of, a local agency shall be a rate equivalent to the following:
  (1) The maximum property tax rate which could have been levied for such agency pursuant to any provision of this chapter for the prior fiscal year, plus
  (2) A property tax rate, not less than zero, on the secured roll which would produce an amount of property tax revenue equal to the following:
  (a) The amount of property tax revenue which would be received by such agency in the current fiscal year by levying the rate identified in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph against the agency's total assessed value for the current fiscal year, subtracted from
  (b) The amount of property tax revenue which would be received by such agency in the current fiscal year if its property tax revenue from the prior year were to change by a percentage equal to the following: the percentage change in the population of the agency (as determined pursuant to Section 2227 or 2228) plus the percentage change in the cost of living (as determined pursuant to Section 2212) which is applicable to the agency. As used in this section "property tax revenue from the prior year" means the revenue which would have been received by a local agency in the prior fiscal year by levying the maximum property tax rate authorized by this chapter against the total assessed value for such year. As used in this section "total assessed value" means all assessed value subject to ad valorem property taxation by a local agency plus assessed value attributable to the homeowners' property tax exemption and to the business inventory property tax exemption. Any property tax rate established pursuant to this section shall be the maximum property tax rate for a local agency until such rate is subsequently changed or adjusted pursuant to the provisions of this section or other provisions of this chapter.

In the event that a special district employs a system of ad volorem property taxation in which the district assessment roll is not based upon the full cash value of the assessed property, the provisions of Section 2266 shall not apply to such district, and this section shall provide an alternate procedure to the other provisions of this article for establishing the maximum property tax rate of such district. The maximum property tax rate which may be levied by, or on behalf of, a special district subject to the provisions of this section shall be a rate equivalent to the following:
  (1) The rate established for such special district pursuant to the provisions of Section 2263, plus
  (2) A rate obtained by multiplying the rate determined pursuant to subdivision (1) by the percentage change in the total assessed value of property within the district as shown on the current equalized secured assessment roll of the county, and the total assessed value of property within the district as shown on the equalized secured assessment roll of the county for the 1972-1973 fiscal year. As used in the section, "total assessed value" shall have the same meaning as in Section 2266.

As used in Section 2266, "property tax revenue" includes revenue distributed in the prior fiscal year to local government by the state pursuant to the Timber Yield Tax Law (Part 18.5 (commencing with Section 38101), Division 2).

This section shall provide an alternate procedure to the other provisions of this article for establishing maximum property tax rates. In the event that a chartered city assesses property and collects taxes and transfers such functions to the county in which such city is located, the maximum tax rate for such city in the first fiscal year in which the transfer is effective shall be determined by multiplying the city's maximum tax rate for the preceding fiscal year by the same factor established by the State Board of Equalization to determine the public utility roll supplied to the city for such preceding fiscal year.

In the event that an error or omission occurred in determining the property tax rate which was levied by, or on behalf of, a local agency in either the 1971-1972 fiscal year or the 1972-1973 fiscal year, the maximum property tax rate for such agency for purposes of this chapter shall be the property tax rate which would have been levied, in either such fiscal year, if such error or omission had not occurred.