HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter from Senator Nielsen regarding Senate Bill 391CAPITOL OFFICE
STATE CAPITOL
SACRAMENTO, CA 95814
(916) 651 -4004
CHICO DISTRICT OFFICE
2653 FOREST AVE., STE. 110
CHICO, CA 95928
(530) 879 -7424
CRESCENT CITY DISTRICT OFFICE
1080 MASON MALL, STE. 4
CRESCENT CITY, CA 95531
(707) 464 -1255
ROSEVILLE DISTRICT OFFICE
2200A DOUGLAS BLVD., STE. 100
ROSEVILLE, CA 95765
(916) 772 -0571
YUBA CITY DISTRICT OFFICE
409 CENTER ST., STE. C
YUBA CITY, CA 95993
(530) 751 -8657
March 11, 2014
The Honorable Doug Teeter, Chair
Butte County Board of Supervisors
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200
Oroville, CA 95965
Dear Supervisor Teeter and Members of the Board:
COMMITTEES
BUDGET & FISCAL REVIEW
HEALTH
INSURANCE
VETERANS AFFAIRS
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Tank you for contacting ?may. office to convey you t- opposition to Sena .e Bill 39 1 (DeSaulni(--%-.r),
the California Homes and Jobs Act. I appreciate hearing from you and having the opportunity to
update you on the status of this legislation.
SB 391 passed the full Senate on May 29 by a vote of 27 -12 and is currently awaiting a hearing
in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. I voted in opposition to this bill when it came
before me.
SB 391 would assess a "fee" of $75 per document whenever a person records any of a specified
list of real estate related documents with the county. Since the funds collected would not be
collected in exchange for a direct service to the payee, but rather would be used to pay for public
housing programs, this "fee" is actually a tax. SB 391 would constitute a 750% tax increase on
the recording of all of the affected real estate documents.
This tax would be especially harsh on homeowners who are able to reach agreements with their
lender prior to foreclosure. At least five documents have to be recorded between the time of a
Notice of Default and either the foreclosure or the closure of a short sale. Since each document
is subject to the tax, this would impose an additional charge of at least $375 on the borrower —
and probably more.
The Department of Housing and Coi'x'rrardty Development already admiui sters more than 20
programs that award loans and grants for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation and
preservation of affordable rental and ownership housing, homeless shelters and transitional
housing, public facilities and infrastructure, and the development of jobs for lower income
workers.
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If Y ou are interested in tracking this or other legislation, you may obtain the bill text, analyses,
status, and vote records from my Senate homepage at www.sen.ca. ov/Nielsen.
Again, thank you for taking the time to write. Please contact my office if my staff or I may be of
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any further assistance on this or any other matter at the state level.
Sincerely,
JIM NIEL S EN
Senator, Fourth District
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