Santa Barbara County Municipal Code § 32-82 Collection and disbursement

(a) Property taxes collected in a county have always been intended for use in that county. This is an essential element of the local agency home rule guaranteed by the Constitution of the State of California.

(b) Proposition 13, as adopted in June of 1978 and amended thereafter, allows the Legislature to specify how the property taxes collected in a county are to be apportioned among the county and the cities and districts therein, but did not contemplate that property taxes would be taken for purposes of the State of California or would be apportioned in a manner inconsistent with the home rule provisions of the Constitution.

(c) Proposition 98, adopted in November 1988 and amended by Proposition 111 in June 1990, provides that a county's obligation to fund schools is limited to the amount of property taxes provided to the schools by the county for fiscal 1987-88, adjusted annually for cost of living increases. Pursuant to Proposition 98, the state's portion of school funding is the amount that, when added to the counties' portion, will bring total school funding to the level specified in the Proposition.

(d) The Governor of the State of California has proposed that the state take approximately two billion six hundred million dollars of the property taxes collected in California counties in fiscal 1993-94 and use those funds to pay a substantial part of the state's portion of school funding or to pay other state expenses, in clear violation of the letter and intent of Proposition 98 and of articles X111A and X111B of the California Constitution.

(e) For fiscal 1992-93, available revenues have fallen far short of the expenditures necessary to meet the critical fiscal needs of Santa Barbara County, requiring essential county services be cut substantially.

(f) If the gap between available revenues and necessary expenditures increases to any significant extent for fiscal 1993-94, the county will not be able to fund state mandates or provide the essential health, safety and general welfare of its citizens that is requisite to meaningful home rule.

(g) If the Legislature acts upon the governor's proposal to take approximately two billion six hundred million dollars of the property taxes collected in California counties in fiscal 1993-94 and use those funds to pay a substantial part of the state's portion of school funding or to pay other state expenses, this county would lose a very significant part of the funding now used to provide critical county services, would be prevented from providing for the essential health, safety and general welfare of its citizens, and would be deprived of meaningful home rule in contravention of the Constitution of California.

(h) Santa Barbara County hereby finds that the aforesaid intended state action would constitute an unauthorized apportionment and an illegal confiscation of the property taxes of this county, in that such action would prevent the county from providing for the essential health, safety and general welfare of its citizens, would prevent the meaningful home rule guaranteed by the Constitution of California, would violate the schools funding scheme of Proposition 98 by requiring this county to pay a substantial part of the state portion of school funding, would violate section 6 of article X111B of the State Constitution by mandating increased local agency funding of schools without state reimbursement, and would be in excess of the power given to the Legislature in section 1(a) of article X111A of the State Constitution lawfully to apportion property taxes among the county and cities and districts herein.

(i) Santa Barbara County, therefore, determines that it is necessary to take action to oppose the proposed unauthorized apportionment and to prevent the unlawful confiscation of the property taxes to be collected in this county for fiscal 1993-94 and to insure the preservation of the constitutionally guaranteed powers of home rule, including the power to provided for the essential health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the county. This article, therefore, provides for the lawful apportionment among the county and cities and districts therein of the property taxes collected in this county in fiscal 1993-94.

(Ord. No. 4108, § 1)

Notwithstanding any provision of state law to the contrary, the apportionment of property taxes among the county, the cities, school districts (including community college districts) and other districts therein shall be in the manner such apportionment was made for fiscal 1992-93 pursuant to chapter 6 of part 0.5 of division 1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California.

(Ord. No. 4108, § 1)

The treasurer-tax collector and the auditor-controller shall collect, apportion and disburse property taxes for fiscal 1993-94 in accordance with section 32-81 above unless the board of supervisors of Santa Barbara County, by emergency declaration adopted pursuant to four-fifths vote, specifies an alternative apportionment.

(Ord. No. 4108, § 1)

In accordance with the findings and intent of section 32-80 above, this article will become operative, and property taxes shall be collected and apportioned and disbursed in accordance herewith, in the event the state enacts legislation that would result in any unauthorized apportionment or unlawful confiscation of property taxes collected in Santa Barbara County in fiscal 1993-94.

(Ord. No. 4108, § 1)