California State Board of Equalization

The California State Board of Equalization (BOE) is a public agency charged with tax administration and fee collection in the state of California in the United States. The authorities of the Board attempt to ensure that counties fairly assess property taxes, collect excise taxes on alcoholic beverages, administer the insurance tax program, and other tax collection related activities.State Board of Equalization, About BOE

The BOE is the only publicly elected tax commission in the United States.State Board of Equalization, Board Members It is made up of four directly elected members, each representing a district for four-year terms, along with the State Controller, who is elected on a statewide basis, serving as the fifth member. Since the passage of Proposition 140 in 1990, board members are limited to two terms in office.

In June 2017, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation stripping the Board of many of its powers, returning the agency to its original core responsibilities (originating in the State Constitution in 1879).

History The State Board of Equalization was created in 1879 by the ratification of the second Constitution of California. Its original mandate was to ensure that property tax assessments were uniform and equal across all counties in the state.

Prior to the creation of the state income tax, sales tax, and fuel taxes in the 1930s, California's state government was almost completely supported by property taxes, which were and still are assessed at the county level by elected tax assessors. Assessors were tempted to boost their popularity with county voters by undervaluing voters' property, and thereby lowering their taxes. This presented the risk of counties with honest assessors paying more than their fair share of the burden of operating the state government, so the Board of Equalization was created to equalize the burden.

The California Franchise Tax Board and the Employment Development Department are separately also responsible for collecting taxes. Some have criticized this as inefficient.Daniel L. Simmons, California Tax Collection: Time for Reform, 48 Santa Clara L. Rev. 279 (2008). Efforts to reform the Board were made in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1990s, and 2000s.

In 1994, Governor Pete Wilson vetoed a plan by the legislature to abolish the Franchise Tax Board and give its responsibilities to the Board of Equalization, explaining in his veto message that the state should have done the opposite. In 2004, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released a 2,500-page report seeking to merge the Board with other agencies and then promoted a bill by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk to do just that. The effort failed. In 2008, the agency employed approximately 3,950 people throughout the state.State Board of Equalization, 2007-2008 Annual Report, Profile, "Governance" p. 3.

By 2017, the Board had expanded to collecting $60 billion a year. It collected sales and use taxes, hazardous waste fees, jet fuel taxes, marijuana taxes, and over 30 additional taxes. That year, the Board had 4,700 employees and a $617 million annual budget. Board members were paid a $137,000 annual salary and were each allowed to hire a 12-member staff. Each year, the Board spent at least $3 million on education events where elected members appeared before their constituents.

In March 2017, an audit by the California Department of Finance revealed missing funds and signs of nepotism, leading to calls for the governor to put the Board under a public trustee. In June 2017, the California Department of Justice began a criminal investigation into the members of the Board.

On June 27, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law legislation, stripping the Board of many of its powers. The legislation created two new departments controlled by the governor responsible for the Board's statutory duties, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and the California Office of Tax Appeals.

The Board still has its constitutional powers to review property tax assessments and insurer tax assessments, and its role in the collection of alcohol excise and pipeline taxes. It retained 400 employees, with the rest of its 4,800 workers being shifted to the new departments.

In 2023, constitutional amendment ACA-11 was introduced by Phil Ting in the California State Assembly to abolish the board and redistribute its staff and duties to other state tax agencies. The Los Angeles Times editorial board called for ACA-11 and ACA-9, which would abolish the elected position of California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, to pass the legislature and appear before voters as a ballot proposition. ACA-9 was later withdrawn by its proposer, Kevin McCarty, after opposition from groups including the California Teachers Association and the California Schools Boards Association.

Equalization districts

For the purposes of tax administration, the BOE divides the state into four Equalization districts, each with its own elected board member. District boundaries are redrawn following the decennial census. The latest boundaries were drawn following the 2020 census and had been in effect since January 1, 2023.

First district The First Equalization District is made up of the following counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, the portion of San Bernardino outside of the San Bernardino panhandle, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yuba, and Yolo.

Second district The Second Equalization District is made up of the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Trinity, and Ventura.

Third district The Third Equalization District is made up of Los Angeles County.

Fourth district The Fourth Equalization District is made up of the following counties: Imperial, Orange, Riverside and San Diego; and a portion of San Bernardino County including the cities of Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Highland, Loma Linda, Redlands, Rialto, San Bernardino, Twentynine Palms, Yucaipa and Yucca Valley.

Members of the Board of Equalization Current members DistrictNamePartyStartElections1 Republican201820222Democratic20223Democratic201820224Democratic20182022Controller, Ex officioDemocratic2022

List of members YearElections1st District2nd District3rd District4th DistrictState Controller(ex officio)18791878James L. KingMoses M. DrewWarren DuttonTyler D. HeiskelDaniel M. Kenfield18801881188218831882Charles GildeaL. C. MorehouseC. E. WilcoxonJohn Markley John P. Dunn18841885188618871886Gordon E. SlossJohn T. Gaffey18881889189018911890J. S. SwanRichard H. BeamerJames R. HebbronEdward P. Colgan18921893189418951894A. ChesebroughGeorge L. Arnold18961897189818991898J. G. EdwardsAlexander BrownThomas O. Toland19001901190219031902William H. AlfordFrank Mattison190419051906 A. B. Nye19071906Joseph H. ScottRichard E. CollinsJeff McElvaine19081909191019111910Edward M. RolkinJohn Mitchell19121913John S. Chambers191419151914John C. Corbett19161917191819191918Phillip D. Wilson19201921Ray L. Riley192219231922Harvey G. Cattell19241925192619271926John C. CorbettFred E. Stewart1928192919301931193019321933193419351934Orfa Jean Shontz19361937Harry B. Riley193819391938George R. ReillyWilliam G. Bonelli19401941194219431942James H. Quinn194419451946Thomas Kuchel19471946Jerrold L. Seawell1948194919501951195019521953Robert C. Kirkwood1954Paul R. Leake19551954Robert E. McDavid19561957195819591958John W. LynchRichard NevinsAlan Cranston1960196119621963196219641965196619671966Houston I. Flournoy19681969197019711970William Morgan Bennett19721973197419751974Kenneth Cory1976Iris G. Sankey1977197819791978Ernest J. Dronenburg Jr.19801981198219831982Conway H. Collis19841985198619871986William Morgan BennettConway H. CollisErnest J. Dronenburg, Jr.Paul B. CarpenterGray Davis19881989199019911990Brad ShermanMatt Fong19921993 Vacant199419951994Johan KlehsDean AndalBrad ShermanKathleen Connell19961997John Chiang199819991998Claude Parrish20002001200220032002Carole MigdenBill LeonardSteve Westly20042005Betty Yee200620072006Michelle SteelJudy ChuJohn Chiang200820092010Barbara Alby /Sean WallentineSteve Shea /Jerome Horton 20112010George RunnerJerome Horton20122013201420152014George RunnerFiona MaJerome HortonDiane HarkeyBetty Yee20162017201820192018Ted GainesMalia CohenTony VazquezMike Schaefer20202021202220232022Sally LieberMalia Cohen20242025202620272026

Programs After being reduced to its constitutional responsibilities in 2017, the Board retained almost none of its tax and fee responsibilities.State Board of Equalization, 2007-2008 Annual Report, Profile, "Tax and Fee Programs, 2007-2008" pp. 2. The only property taxes it actively administers in its entirety are state-assessed properties and the Private Railroad Car Tax; the Board acts only in an appellate role in collecting the Alcoholic Beverage Tax and Insurance Tax, reviewing appeals of denials of claims for refund.

However, the Board does continue to appraise and audit public utilities, railroad companies and properties owned by counties outside of their own jurisdictions, known as 'state-assessed properties', and hear appeals from its own staff appraisals.

Tax administration programs State-assessed properties Private Railroad Car Tax

Regulatory programs County-assessed properties

Appellate-only programs Alcoholic Beverage Tax Tax on Insurers

Former responsibilities (prior to 2017)Sales and use tax programs Sales and Use Tax Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax District Transactions (Sales) and Use Tax

Special tax and fee programs Electronic Waste Recycling Fee Environmental Fees Hazardous Substances Tax Marine Invasive Species Fee (formerly Ballast Water Management Fee) Occupational Lead Poisoning Prevention Fee Excise Taxes Alcoholic Beverages Tax Alternative Cigarette Tax Stamp Program (ACTS) California Tire Fee Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Program Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Energy Resources Surcharge Insurance Tax Integrated Waste Management Fee Natural Gas Surcharge Fuel Taxes Aircraft Jet Fuel Tax Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Fee Diesel Fuel Tax International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) Interstate User Diesel Fuel Tax Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Oil Spill Response, Prevention, and Administration Fees Underground Storage Tank Maintenance Fee Use Fuel Tax

Property Tax Programs County-assessed droperties Private Railroad Car Tax State-assessed properties Timber Yield Tax

Tax Appellate Programs Bank and Corporation Tax Law Personal Income Tax Homeowner and Renter Property Tax Assistance Law Publicly Owned Property Assessment Review Program Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Law

See also

Districts in California

Notes

References

External links Board of Equalization