Press Release
RELEASE: Immediate
CONTACT: Peter Detwiler
DATE: August 24, 1999
TELEPHONE: 916-445-9748
RAINEY PANEL LOOKS AT ALLOCATING TAXES
Property tax allocation is the topic of a special hearing on Tuesday, September 21, 1999, according to State Senator Richard K. Rainey (R-Walnut Creek) who chairs the Senate Local Government Committee. Rainey’s hearing which begins at 9:30 a.m. in the State Capitol will explore inequities in allocating local property tax revenues to cities, counties, and special districts.
"We want to find out if our communities really get their fair share," said Rainey. "People pay lots of property taxes and they have a right to know where their tax dollars really go. This gives us a chance to dig into the topic and figure out if the current formulas are fair or not."
Rainey has invited representatives of Governor Gray Davis to come to the hearing and explain the Davis Administration’s thinking on property tax issues. When Davis issued his first budget in January 1999, the new governor pledged to rethink the way that state law controls local property taxes. Davis then said that his "Administration believes that local governments are entitled to share with state government the resources stemming from California’s economic growth." But there were no reforms this year.
Senator Rainey has also invited the Legislature’s top fiscal expert to explain the problems that local agencies face because of the state’s formulas for splitting property tax revenues among different types of local governments. Rainey is also inviting representatives of cities, counties, and special districts to talk with the legislators at the special hearing on September 21.
A hearing agenda and background paper will be available from the Senate Committee’s office about a week before the hearing. The materials will also appear on the Committee’s web-site www.sen.ca.gov/locgov
