SCA 4: Property taxation: principal residence and family home transfers.

The California Constitution limits the amount of ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property, defined as the county assessors valuation of real property as shown on the 197576 tax bill and, thereafter, the appraised value of the real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership occurs after the 1975 assessment, subject to an annual inflation adjustment not to exceed 2%.

The California Constitution, until February 15, 2021, excluded from classification as a purchase or change in ownership the purchase or transfer of a principal residence, and the first $1,000,000 of other real property, in the case of a purchase or transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of those grandchildren are deceased, except as provided.

At the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, the voters approved Proposition 19. Pursuant to Proposition 19, the California Constitution, on and after February 16, 2021, removes the above-described exclusion from classification as a purchase and change in ownership requiring reappraisal, and instead excludes from classification as a purchase and change in ownership the purchase or transfer of a family home or family farm, as those terms are defined, of the transferor in the case of a transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of those grandchildren are deceased, if the property continues as the family home or family farm of the transferee, as specified.

This measure would end the operation of the above-described provisions of Proposition 19 on January 1, 2025. The measure would reinstate, on January 1, 2025, the prior rule excluding from classification as a purchase or change in ownership the purchase or transfer of a principal residence, and the first $1,000,000 of other real property, in the case of a purchase or transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of those grandchildren are deceased.

This measure would require the Legislature to provide in statute that the above-described changes are publicized and to ensure that the publicity reaches minority communities. The measure would require a liberal interpretation and broad application of these changes that effectuates their purpose.