PROP 19
Here's a quick guide to understanding Prop 19
From WSGVR
Prop. 19 - How It Affects Homeowners' Property Taxes Presented by Paul Horn, Esq., Probate Attorney & CPA - YouTube
Have questions about Prop. 19?
Check out Assessor Jeffrey Prang's website where you can find FAQs, factsheets, and more.
If you’re inheriting the family home from your parents or grandparents, you may benefit from a reassessment exclusion. Use the Prop. 19 exclusion calculator from the Assessors website here to better understand how Prop. 19 may impact you.
For the latest information, visit https://www.prop19taxbreak.com/
March 2021 Update
Direct from Assessor Jeffrey Prang's newsletter
Proposition 19 was approved by California voters during the November 3rd election and makes significant changes to Constitutional provisions regarding property tax rules. Some of these changes have already gone into effect and others will go into effect April 1st.
Here’s what you need to know:
Seniors & Disabled
Proposition 19 will allow those over the age of 55, the severely disabled, and victims of a natural disaster, such as a fire, flood or earthquake, to transfer their current property assessment and the property tax basis when they sell their home and buy a new one. Eligible homeowners can now purchase a new home of any value anywhere in the state and take their lower property tax basis with them. Further, it allows them to transfer their tax basis up to three times. For many seniors who were reluctant to move and risk higher property taxes, Prop. 19 will provide an opportunity to upgrade or downsize in the California community of choice.
Inheritance of Family Property
If you are to inherit a family property from your parents, Prop. 19 limits some tax benefits that previously existed. Under the previous law, parents could pass-down a family property to their children and the assessed value for property tax purposes would remain unchanged. This translated to valuable property tax savings for many working and middle-income families.
Now, only a parent’s principal residence may be transferred to their children, and that home must then become the child’s principal residence within one-year of the transfer. If these conditions are not met, the home will be reassessed to market value and the property taxes may increase.
Legislation still needed
Prop. 19 still requires clarification by the State Legislature to clarify and address ambiguities in the new law in order to avoid confusion and uneven application of practices across the state. I am working to advance legislation to address these issues.
Senate Bill 539, authored by Senators Bob Hertzberg, Mike McGuire, and Ben Allen, aims to clarify several key points that are essential for the fair administration of the law, but the legislation only addresses a portion of what is needed to implement the entirety of Prop. 19 and additional legislation is still needed.
A special message from C.A.R. President Jeanne Radsick
November 11, 2020
California voters have spoken and millions have voiced their support for Proposition 19.
With more than 15 million votes counted, we are proud to announce the passage of Proposition 19, which received 51.1 percent of the more than 15.3 million votes cast. Proposition 19 is a win-win for California voters providing needed housing and tax relief for seniors and wildfire victims, and generating much needed revenue for schools, fire districts, cities, and counties as they face budget shortfalls due to the harmful economic impact of COVID-19.
The passage of Proposition 19 would not be possible without the tremendous support of our members. Thousands of our members educated clients and colleagues, shared Prop. 19 information on social media, wrote letters, advocated for endorsements and supported the Association every step of the way.
We are also thankful for the support of our co-sponsor, the California Professional Firefighters, as well as key endorsements from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Secretary of State Alex Padilla, State Controller Fiona Ma, the California Democratic Party, Republican legislators, labor unions, chambers of commerce, seniors, wildfire survivors and many more.
This has been a historic election with a record-breaking voter turnout, and we are grateful to all of you for your hard work and continued efforts to bring success to Proposition 19. From collecting nearly 1.5 million signatures from California voters, to putting the original measure on the ballot two years ago, to working closely with legislators to create an even stronger bipartisan measure to place on this year’s ballot, to strongly supporting Prop. 19 at every opportunity — each of you made a difference.
Thank you again for your commitment. Together, we have proved we can make a real difference that will make a positive impact on the housing crisis, help our vulnerable populations by limiting property tax increases, and support our firefighters.
Sincerely,
Jeanne Radsick
C.A.R. President
*IMPORTANT HOT TOPIC*
October 2020 Update: Christy Hayek from C.A.R. provided a very informative Powerpoint presentation regarding Prop 19 and why it's important to vote YES! We've saved it out as a PDF to make it easier for viewing by clicking the button below.
**SUPPORT** Proposition 19 - Property Tax Transfer, Exemptions, and Revenue for Wildfire Agencies and Counties Amendment (2020)
According to Robyn Spiller - Government Affairs Field Representative,
"The Senate and Assembly have a number of bills pending which has led to a degree of testiness in the legislature between the two houses as the Covid-19 impact on the legislature will require some triage on the remaining bills. This article does a good job of discussing these issues: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article244558152.html .
There are two outstanding rent/eviction relief bills, AB 1436 (Chiu) which we straight oppose in coalition with other groups and SB 1410 (Caballero) on which we have an oppose unless amended position. It is also likely the Governor may get involved to forge some sort of compromise bill which would likely involve some type of eviction moratorium.
President Trump has also directed various federal agencies to examine whether various forms of eviction relief including eviction moratoriums should be pursued, so there could be federal actions on evictions which could impact how the state acts.
Hot off the press: SB 1079 was amended August 10, and we still oppose. Additionally, I should add that we have bills such as AB 1436 that are being amended to included provisions of AB 2501 which we are opposed to and AB 2782 now has provisions of SB 999 which we also oppose.
AB 2501 and SB 999 were unsuccessful in passing out of their respective housing and however, now due to limited timing with the legislature and possibly some back room deals negotiations of the “dead” bills they are now being included in “active” bills so this time is very fluid and we are constantly on defense from now until August 31st.
We’ve launched a public facing site for members to share with their clients: https://www.yeson19.vote/
Please continue to use the toolkit, and Social media links found on the members site here: https://www.carhomecoalition.com/ "