(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any eligible county may, upon the recommendation of the county assessor, and by resolution of the board of supervisors of that county adopted not later than December 1 of the fiscal year for which it is to first apply, elect to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program.

(2) Except as specified in paragraph (3), for the purposes of this section, an eligible county shall mean a county in which additional property tax revenue allocated to school entities would reduce the amount of General Fund moneys apportioned to school entities. However, eligibility shall be terminated when, in combination with resources in the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund, additional property tax revenues allocated to school entities will not result in a reduction in the General Fund apportionments.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), both the County of Solano and the County of San Benito shall be deemed eligible counties that may, upon the recommendation of the county assessor, and by resolution of the board of supervisors of the county adopted on or before March 31, 1996, elect to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program.

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any county in which a new assessor is elected in 1998 may, upon the recommendation of the county assessor, and by resolution of the board of supervisors of the county adopted on or before January 31, 1999, elect to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program commencing with the 1998-99 fiscal year.

(b) (1) In each fiscal year from the 1995-96 fiscal year to the 2001-02 fiscal year, inclusive, an eligible county participating in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program may receive a loan for up to the amount listed in paragraph (3). The loan shall be repaid by June 30 of the fiscal year following the year in which the loan is made. However, at the discretion of the Director of Finance, the loan may be renewed once for an additional 12-month period at the request of the participating county board of supervisors. For the Counties of Fresno, Orange, San Benito, and Solano any loan agreement signed on or before July 31, 1996, shall be deemed a loan agreement for the 1995-96 fiscal year for the purposes of this section. For any county in which a new assessor is elected in 1998, any loan agreement signed on or before January 31, 1999, shall be deemed a loan agreement for the 1998-99 fiscal year for the purposes of this section.

(2) If an eligible county elects to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program, it shall enter into a contractual agreement with the Department of Finance. At a minimum, the contractual agreement shall include the following:

(A) The loan amount, as determined by the Director of Finance.

(B) Repayment provisions, including the interception of Motor Vehicle License Fee Account moneys apportioned pursuant to Section 11005 to repay the General Fund.

(C) A listing of the proposed use of the additional resources including, but not limited to:

(i) Proposed new positions.

(ii) Increased automation costs.

(D) An agreement to provide to the Department of Finance, by March 31 of the fiscal year in which the loan is made, a report projecting the impact of the increased funding in the current and subsequent fiscal year.

(3) Upon request of the Department of Finance, the Controller shall provide a loan to the following counties for up to the amount specified by the Director of Finance, not to exceed the following amounts:

(4) The Department of Finance shall consider any or all of the following items in determining the extent to which a county has satisfied the terms and repaid the loan, pursuant to the contract, as offered under this part:

(A) County performance as indicated by the State Board of Equalization’s sample survey required pursuant to § 15640 of the Government Code.

(B) Performance measures adopted by the California Assessors’ Association.

(C) Reduction of backlog of assessment appeals and Proposition 8 declines in value.

(D) County compliance with mandatory audits required by Section 469.

(E) Reduction of backlogs in new construction, changes in ownership, and supplemental roll.

(F) Other measures, as determined by the Director of Finance.

(5) The Director of Finance shall notify the Controller of any participating county that fails to comply with the terms of the agreement, including the repayment of the loan. When the Controller receives notice from the Director of Finance, the Controller shall make an apportionment to the General Fund on behalf of the participating county in the amount of that required payment for the purpose of making that payment. The Controller shall make that payment only from moneys credited to the Motor Vehicle License Fee Account in the Transportation Tax Fund to which the participating county is entitled at that time under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11001) of Part 5 of Division 2, and shall thereupon reduce, by the amount of the payment, the subsequent allocation or allocations to which the county would otherwise be entitled under that chapter.

(c) (1) Funds appropriated for purposes of this section shall be used to enhance the property tax administration system by providing supplemental resources. Amounts provided to any county as a loan pursuant to this section shall not be used to supplant the current level of funding. In order to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program, a participating county shall maintain a base staffing, including contract staff, and total funding level in the county assessor’s office, independent of the loan proceeds provided pursuant to this act, equal to the levels in the 1994-95 fiscal year exclusive of amounts provided to the assessor’s office pursuant to Item 9100-102-001 of the Budget Act of 1994. However, in a county in which the 1994-95 funding level for the assessor’s office was higher than the 1993-94 level, the 1993-94 fiscal year staffing and funding levels shall be considered the base year for purposes of this section. Commencing with the 1996-97 fiscal year, if a county was otherwise eligible but was unable to participate in this program in the 1995-96 fiscal year because it did not meet the funding level and staffing requirements of this paragraph, that county shall maintain a base staffing, including contract staff, and total funding level in the county assessor’s office equal to the levels in the 1995-96 fiscal year.

(2) Prior to the assessor’s recommendation for participation in the State-County Property Tax Administration Loan Program, the assessor shall consult with the county tax collector, and any other county agency directly involved in property tax administration, to discuss the needs of the program for the duration of the contractual agreement.

(d) A participating county may establish a tracking system whereby a work or function number is assigned to each appraisal or administrative activity. That system should provide statistical data on the number of production units performed by each employee and the positive and negative change in assessed value attributable to the activities performed by each employee.

(e) Notwithstanding Section 95.3, no amount of funds provided to an eligible county pursuant to this section shall result in any deduction from those property tax administrative costs that are eligible for reimbursement pursuant to Section 95.3.

(f) At the request of the Department of Finance, the board shall assist the Department of Finance in evaluating contracts entered into pursuant to this section.

(Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 602, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2001.)