401.10
. (a) Notwithstanding any other law relating to the
determination of the values upon which property taxes are based,
values for each tax year from the 1984-85 tax year to the 2020-21 tax
year, inclusive, for intercounty pipeline rights-of-way on publicly
or privately owned property, including those rights-of-way that are
the subject of a change in ownership, new construction, or any other
reappraisable event during the period from March 1, 1975, to June 30,
2021, inclusive, shall be rebuttably presumed to be at full cash
value for that year, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) (A) The full cash value is determined to equal a 1975-76 base
year value, annually adjusted for inflation in accordance with
subdivision (b) of Section 2 of Article XIII A of the California
Constitution, and the 1975-76 base year value was determined in
accordance with the following schedule:
(i) Twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) per mile for a high density
property.
(ii) Twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) per mile for a transitional
density property.
(iii) Nine thousand dollars ($9,000) per mile for a low density
property.
(B) For purposes of this section, the density classifications
described in subparagraph (A) are defined as follows:
(i) "High density" means Category 1 (densely urban) as established
by the State Board of Equalization.
(ii) "Transitional density" means Category 2 (urban) as
established by the State Board of Equalization.
(iii) "Low density" means Category 3 (valley-agricultural),
Category 4 (grazing), and Category 5 (mountain and desert) as
established by the State Board of Equalization.
(2) The full cash value is determined utilizing the same property
density classifications that were assigned to the property by the
State Board of Equalization for the 1984-85 tax year or, if density
classifications were not so assigned to the property for the 1984-85
tax year, the density classifications that were first assigned to the
property by the board for a subsequent tax year.
(3) (A) If a taxpayer owns multiple pipelines in the same
right-of-way, an additional 50 percent of the value attributed to the
right-of-way for the presence of the first pipeline, as determined
under paragraphs (1) and (2), shall be added for the presence of each
additional pipeline up to a maximum of two additional pipelines. For
any particular taxpayer, the total valuation for a multiple pipeline
right-of-way shall not exceed 200 percent of the value determined
for the right-of-way of the first pipeline in the right-of-way in
accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2).
(B) If the State Board of Equalization has determined that an
intercounty pipeline, located within a multiple pipeline right-of-way
previously valued in accordance with subparagraph (A), has been
abandoned as a result of physical removal or blockage, the assessed
value of the right-of-way attributable to the last pipeline enrolled
in accordance with subparagraph (A) shall be reduced by not less than
75 percent of that increase in assessed value that resulted from the
application of subparagraph (A).
(4) If all pipelines of a taxpayer located within the same
pipeline right-of-way, previously valued in accordance with this
section, are determined by the State Board of Equalization to have
been abandoned as the result of physical removal or blockage, the
assessed value of that right-of-way to that taxpayer shall be
determined to be no more than 25 percent of the assessed value
otherwise determined for the right-of-way for a single pipeline of
that taxpayer pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2).
(b) If the assessor assigns values for any tax year from the
1984-85 tax year to the 2020-21 tax year, inclusive, in accordance
with the methodology specified in subdivision (a), the taxpayer's
right to assert any challenge to the right to assess that property,
whether in an administrative or judicial proceeding, shall be deemed
to have been raised and resolved for that tax year and the values
determined in accordance with that methodology shall be rebuttably
presumed to be correct. If the assessor assigns values for any tax
year from the 1984-85 tax year to the 2020-21 tax year, inclusive, in
accordance with the methodology specified in subdivision (a), any
pending taxpayer lawsuit that challenges the right to assess the
property shall be dismissed by the taxpayer with prejudice as it
applies to intercounty pipeline rights-of-way.
(c) Notwithstanding any change in ownership, new construction, or
decline in value occurring after March 1, 1975, if the assessor
assigns values for rights-of-way for any tax year from the 1984-85
tax year to the 2020-21 tax year, inclusive, in accordance with the
methodology specified in subdivision (a), the taxpayer may not
challenge the right to assess that property and the values determined
in accordance with that methodology shall be rebuttably presumed to
be correct for that property for that tax year.
(d) Notwithstanding any change in ownership, new construction, or
decline in value occurring after March 1, 1975, if the assessor does
not assign values for rights-of-way for any tax year from the 1984-85
tax year to the 2020-21 tax year, inclusive, at the 1975-76 base
year values specified in subdivision (a), any assessed value that is
determined on the basis of valuation standards that differ, in whole
or in part, from those valuation standards set forth in subdivision
(a) shall not benefit from any presumption of correctness, and the
taxpayer may challenge the right to assess that property or the
values for that property for that tax year. As used herein, a
challenge to the right to assess shall include any assessment appeal,
claim for refund, or lawsuit asserting any right, remedy, or cause
of action relating to or arising from, but not limited to, the
following or similar contentions:
(1) That the value of the right-of-way is included in the value of
the underlying fee or railroad right-of-way.
(2) That assessment of the value of the right-of-way to the owner
of the pipeline would result in double assessment.
(3) That the value of the right-of-way may not be assessed to the
owner of the pipeline separately from the assessment of the value of
the underlying fee.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, during a four-year
period commencing on January 1, 1996, the assessor may issue an
escape assessment in accordance with the specific valuation standards
set forth in subdivision (a) for the following taxpayers and tax
years:
(1) Any intercounty pipeline right-of-way taxpayer who was a
plaintiff in Southern Pacific Pipe Lines, Inc. v. State Board of
Equalization (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 42, for the tax years 1984-85 to
1996-97, inclusive.
(2) Any intercounty pipeline right-of-way taxpayer who was not a
plaintiff in Southern Pacific Pipe Lines, Inc. v. State Board of
Equalization (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 42, for the tax years 1989-90 to
1996-97, inclusive.
(f) Any escape assessment levied under subdivision (e) shall not
be subject to penalties or interest under the provisions of Section
532. If payment of any taxes due under this section is made within 45
days of demand by the tax collector for payment, the county shall
not impose any late payment penalty or interest. Taxes not paid
within 45 days of demand by the tax collector shall become delinquent
at that time. If the tax thereon remains unpaid at the time set for
declaration of default for delinquent taxes, the tax together with
any penalty and costs as may have accrued thereon while on the
secured roll shall be transferred to the unsecured roll.
(g) For purposes of this section, "intercounty pipeline
right-of-way" means, except as otherwise provided in this
subdivision, any interest in publicly or privately owned real
property through which or over which an intercounty pipeline is
placed. However, "intercounty pipeline right-of-way" does not include
any parcel or facility that the State Board of Equalization
originally separately assessed using a valuation method other than
the multiplication of pipeline length within a subject property by a
unit value determined in accordance with the density category of that
subject property.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2022, and, as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2022, deletes or extends
that date.