Today's Law As Amended


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AB-483 Local government: taxes, fees, assessments, and charges: definitions.(2013-2014)



As Amends the Law Today
As Amends the Law on Oct 04, 2013


SECTION 1.
 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Business improvement districts and tourism marketing districts are important to California’s economy, and provide a number of tourism-related services to California’s tourism industry, including marketing of assessed businesses, tourism promotion, and special events to attract tourists.
(b) Business improvement district and tourism marketing district assessment revenues are intended only to provide benefits or services directly to those businesses paying the assessment, and business improvement district and tourism marketing district assessment revenues cannot be diverted to support general governmental programs.
(c) The purpose of this bill is to clarify that business improvement district and tourism marketing district assessments are not taxes within the meaning of Article XIII C of the California Constitution merely because they might generate indirect, secondary benefits for nonpayors, provided that those indirect, secondary benefits occur incidentally and without cost to the payors of the assessment.

SEC. 2.

 Section 53758 is added to the Government Code, to read:

53758.
 For purposes of Article XIII C of the California Constitution and this article:
(a) “Specific benefit” means a benefit that is provided directly to a payor and is not provided to those not charged. A specific benefit is not excluded from classification as a “specific benefit” merely because an indirect benefit to a nonpayor occurs incidentally and without cost to the payor as a consequence of providing the specific benefit to the payor.
(b) “Specific government service” means a service that is provided by a local government directly to the payor and is not provided to those not charged. A specific government service is not excluded from classification as a “specific government service” merely because an indirect benefit to a nonpayor occurs incidentally and without cost to the payor as a consequence of providing the specific government service to the payor. A “specific government service” may include, but is not limited to, maintenance, landscaping, marketing, events, and promotions.
(c) The local government bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that a levy, charge, or other exaction imposed for a specific benefit or specific government service is not a tax, that the amount is no more than necessary to cover the reasonable costs to the local government in providing the specific benefit or specific government service, and that the manner in which those costs are allocated to a payor bear a fair or reasonable relationship to the specific benefits or specific government services received by the payor.
SEC. 3.
 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure compliance with the California Constitution it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.