Court of Appeal Grants Petition for Rehearing in School District Parcel Tax Case

The court of appeal in Borikas v. Alameda Unified School District (--- Cal.Rptr.3d ----, Cal.App. 1 Dist., December 6, 2012; re-hearing granted January 7, 2013) held that the school district did not have the authority to impose a special tax (a parcel tax in this case) that classifies and differentially taxes property within the district.

This initial appellate decision held that a special tax is invalid where it imposes differential tax rates based on the taxpayer or parcel.  In this case, the court initially found that the District had violated Government Code section 50079 where the District’s Measure H taxed residential taxpayers at $120 per parcel per year and commercial and industrial parcels on a per square foot basis (not to exceed $9,500 per year).  According to the court, treating residential and commercial parcels differently when applying a qualified special tax violates the provision that taxes apply uniformly to all taxpayers or all real property within the school district, except where exempted.

However, the court of appeal has granted the District’s petition for rehearing.  KMTG will follow this case and provide an update to our Legal Alerts as this case proceeds in the appellate process.

To read more, please see KMTG's full legal alert on Borikas here.

Meghan Covert Russell

1% Assessment on Lumber Products

Starting January 1, 2013, lumber and engineered wood products purchased for use in California are subject to a 1% assessment based on the sales price.  This includes many wood products used for school construction, including lumber, plywood, and lath.  However the assessment does apply to products such as furniture, cabinets, or windows. 

For more detailed information you can read the Special Note from the State Board of Equalization here.

Meghan Covert Russell

A Clarifying Change to the English Language Development Standards

AB 124, which became effective January 1, 2012, establishes a process to update, revise, and align the English Language Development Standards to the Common Core State Standards in English language arts, and requires the State Superintendent and the State Board of Education to present lawmakers with a schedule and implementation plan for integrating the revised standards.

Existing law requires each school district that has one or more pupils who are English learners to assess the English language development of each of those pupils upon initial enrollment in order to determine the level of proficiency of those pupils, and thereafter to assess each of those pupils annually until the pupil is redesignated as English proficient.  Existing law further requires the State Board of Education to approve standards for English language development for pupils whose primary language is a language other than English, and that these standards be comparable in rigor and specificity to the statewide academically rigorous content standards for English language arts.

This new measure requires the State Superintendent to convene a group of experts in English language instruction, curriculum, and assessment to assist the State Superintendent in updating, revising, and aligning the English language development standards. It also requires the State Superintendent to present the updated, revised, and aligned English language development standards to the State Board of Education on or before August 31, 2012. The measure further requires the State Board of Education to adopt, reject, or revise the standards presented by the Superintendent on or before September 30, 2012.

Additionally, the measure requires the State Superintendent and the State Board of Education to present to the Governor and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a schedule and implementation plan for integrating the new English language development standards into the state public education system.

The Full Text of AB 124 can be found here.

Sirenia Jimenez, summer associate