(a) Notwithstanding any other law, for the 2007–08 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, all of the following apply:
(1) The property tax assessed value of qualified property that is owned by a public utility and that is assessed by the State Board of Equalization shall be allocated entirely to the county in which the qualified property is located.
(2) The tax rate applied to the assessed value allocated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be the rate calculated pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 100.
(3) The county auditor shall allocate the property tax revenues derived from applying the tax rate described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 100 to the qualified property described in this section as follows:
(A) (i) School entities, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 95, shall be allocated an amount equivalent to the same percentage the school entities received in the prior fiscal year from the property tax revenues paid by the utility in the county in which the qualified property is located.
(ii) The county in which the qualified property is located shall be allocated an amount equivalent to the same percentage the county received in the prior fiscal year from the property tax revenues paid by the utility in the county in which the qualified property is located.
(iii) Special districts, other than an “enterprise special district” as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (c), shall be allocated an amount equivalent to the same percentage that these special districts, other than enterprise special districts, received in the prior fiscal year from the property tax revenues paid by the utility in the county in which the qualified property is located.
(B) The balance of these revenues remaining after the allocations made under subparagraph (A) shall be allocated as follows:
(i) Ninety percent shall be allocated as follows:
(I) If the qualified property is located in a city, to the city in which that property is located.
(II) If the qualified property is located in an unincorporated area of the county, to the county.
(ii) Ten percent shall be allocated as follows:
(I) If the qualified property is provided water services by a water district that otherwise receives a property tax revenue allocation under this chapter, to that water district. If the qualified property is provided water services by more than one water district that otherwise receives a property tax revenue allocation under this chapter, those districts shall each receive an equal share of this revenue.
(II) If the qualified property is provided water services by a city, to that city.
(III) If the qualified property is provided water services by a private water company or a water district that does not otherwise receive a property tax revenue allocation under this chapter:
(aa) If the qualified property is located in a city, to the city in which that property is located.
(ab) If the qualified property is located in an unincorporated area of the county, to the county.
(4) The county auditor shall allocate the property tax revenues derived from applying the tax rate described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 100 to the qualified property described in this section in accordance with subdivision (d) of Section 100, except that school entities, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 95, shall be allocated an amount equivalent to the same percentage the school entities received in the prior fiscal year from the property tax revenues paid by the utility in the county in which the qualified property is located.
(5) In order to provide the allocations required by paragraphs (3) and (4), the county auditor shall make any necessary pro rata reductions in allocations of property taxes attributable to the qualified property to jurisdictions other than those receiving an allocation under paragraphs (3) and (4).
(b) (1) A special district that serves more than one county shall spend property tax revenues allocated under this section within the county that allocated the property tax revenues in or near communities impacted by the qualified property.
(2) All other special districts that receive property tax revenues under this section and that have qualified property located entirely or partially within their jurisdiction shall spend the property tax revenues in or near communities impacted by the qualified property.
(c) For purposes of this section, all of the following apply:
(1) “Qualified property” means all plant and associated equipment, including substation facilities and fee-owned land and easements, placed in service by the public utility on or after January 1, 2007, and related to the following:
(A) Electrical substation facilities that meet either of the following conditions:
(i) The high-side voltage of the facility’s transformer is 50,000 volts or more.
(ii) The substation facilities are operated at 50,000 volts or more.
(B) Electric generation facilities that have a nameplate generating capacity of 50 megawatts or more.
(C) Electrical transmission line facilities of 200,000 volts or more.
(2) “Qualified property” does not include either of the following:
(A) Additions, modifications, reconductoring, or equivalent replacements to the plant and associated equipment made after the plant and associated equipment are placed in service.
(B) Property that is subject to subdivisions (k) and (l) of Section 100.
(3) (A) An “enterprise special district” means a special district, other than a special district described in subparagraph (B), that performs, as reported in the 2001–02 edition of the State Controller’s Special Districts Annual Report, an enterprise function.
(B) An “enterprise special district” does not include any of the following:
(i) A qualified special district, as defined in Section 97.34.
(ii) A district organized pursuant to the Local Health Care District Law set forth in Division 23 (commencing with Section 32000) of the Health and Safety Code.
(iii) A transit district.
(4) A public utility shall provide to the State Board of Equalization a description of the qualified property that is subject to this section in the form prescribed by the board. The State Board of Equalization shall transmit to the auditor of each county in which qualified property is located the information necessary to identify that property and the corresponding assessed value data necessary to make the property tax revenue allocations required by this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 433, Sec. 2. (AB 308) Effective September 29, 2010.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018