RCRC, in coalition with our county government partners UCC and CSAC, supports Assembly Bill 418, authored by Assembly Member Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City). This measure preserves the ability of California counties to utilize Chapter 8 sales of tax-defaulted properties.
These sales are used to dispose of challenging properties or to facilitate the development of affordable housing or other local agency uses; AB 418 ensures that the owners are able to participate in an administrative process if they disagree with the tax sale value established by the tax collector and proposed for approval by the Board of Supervisors.
In California, there are thousands of tax-defaulted properties that hold little to no value or otherwise present specific or unusual challenges to dispose of through a traditional tax auction. Using a Chapter 8 tax sale process to dispose of such properties can be the best option for the local agency and for the property owner.
AB 418 outlines a procedure by which California’s county tax collectors will utilize during the Chapter 8 sale process to ensure that the property is disposed of in a manner that is transparent and affords property owners an administrative remedy if the property owner disputes the price set at a Chapter 8 tax sale. These additional steps, which include a hearing before the Board of Supervisors where a party of interest may present evidence to dispute the tax sale price, offers an administrative process for property owners, while preserving the tax collector’s informed discretion to utilize available options to manage those properties for which appraisals are not financially feasible.
AB 418 ensures that counties can effectively conduct Chapter 8 sales without the threat of litigation and Public Records Act requests that have recently been associated with these sales.
RCRC’s coalition letter of support is available here. This measure passed the Assembly on April 24th and is now in the Senate, awaiting committee assignment. For additional information, contact RCRC Policy Advocate, Sarah Dukett.