1 BEFORE THE CALIFORNIA STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION 2 450 N STREET 3 SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA 4 5 6 7 8 REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT 9 APRIL 13, 2010 10 11 PROPERTY TAX COMMITTEE 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Reported by: Juli Price Jackson 24 CSR No. 5214 25 26 27 28 1 1 2 P R E S E N T 3 For the Board Michelle Steel of Equalization: Chair 4 Betty Yee 5 Member 6 Barbara Alby Acting Member 7 Jerome E. Horton 8 Member 9 Marcy Jo Mandel Appearing for John Chiang, 10 State Controller (per Government Code 11 Section 7.9) 12 Diane G. Olson Chief, Board Proceedings 13 Division 14 For Board of Dean Kinnee 15 Equalization Staff: Property and Special Taxes Chief 16 County-Assessed Property Division 17 Mike Harris 18 Assessment Services and Cost Development Units 19 Principal Property Appraiser 20 21 ---oOo--- 22 23 Speaker: Eric Miethke, representing Xerox Corporation 24 25 ---o0o--- 26 27 28 2 1 2 450 N STREET 3 SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 4 APRIL 13, 2010 5 ---oOo--- 6 MS. OLSON: Good morning, Madam Chair and 7 Members. 8 The first item on today's agenda is the 9 Property Tax Committee. 10 Ms. Steel is the Chair of this committee. 11 Ms. Steel? 12 MS. STEEL: Thank you. We have two items 13 before us today. And first item is just status report 14 for valuation study of high-speed production printers 15 and digital printing presses. 16 Mike Harris is going to give us report. 17 MR. KINNEE: Dean Kinnee with the -- 18 MS. STEEL: Okay. 19 MR. KINNEE: -- Property and Special Taxes 20 Department. 21 I'll give you the overview and rely on Mike 22 Harris if we get into technical details. 23 As you'll recall, in December staff was before 24 the Committee seeking adoption of the valuation factors 25 for document processors. And the Committee did approve 26 the valuation factors. 27 At the December meeting staff had mentioned 28 that during the course of that study that the team, 3 1 which consisted of two Board member staff, two industry 2 representatives and two representatives from the 3 California Assessors Association, recognized the need 4 to, perhaps, look into conducting a study dealing with 5 laser high-speed printers. 6 We indicated to the committee that we would 7 work the team concept, try to gather data. Hopefully, 8 if we could gather the data and analyze it, bring back 9 factors to the Committee here in April or, at the very 10 least, we would bring back a status report. 11 Today I am here to report that, you know, we 12 have tried to collect data. We've identified some 13 sources, but we haven't been able to secure the data we 14 need. 15 The team's still, you know, motivated and 16 working to see if we can develop some factors. 17 I guess today I am not really asking for a 18 motion for the Committee so much as to let you know that 19 since this item didn't come through the petition 20 process, it was an offshoot of a prior study where there 21 was a petition, that with the petition process it was 22 kind of understood that the data would come to us and we 23 would analyze it. 24 So, at this time, I'm guess we're just letting 25 the Board know, unless there is other direction, that we 26 will continue to the work with the team if the data's 27 forthcoming, but we aren't going to exert any effort and 28 our limited resources in trying to track down the data 4 1 sources. 2 And we're available for any comments, if the 3 Committee has any. 4 MS. YEE: Madam Chair, I have one question, I 5 guess it speaks to the process. 6 So, you're telling us the study is suspended as 7 of today because of lack of sufficient source of market 8 data. 9 Should that data become available, we would 10 just resume the study? 11 MR. KINNEE: Right. 12 MS. YEE: There wouldn't be a need to go 13 through the petition process? 14 MR. KINNEE: Correct. 15 MS. YEE: Or any other process? 16 MR. KINNEE: We don't see the need for that. 17 MS. STEEL: Okay, we going to just suspend 18 it. 19 MS. YEE: Okay, thank you. 20 MS. STEEL: We have one speaker, Mr. Eric 21 Miethke. 22 ---o0o--- 23 ERIC MIETHKE 24 ---o0o-- 25 MR. MIETHKE: Thank you very much, Madam Chair 26 and Members. 27 Eric Miethke representing Xerox Corporation. 28 We have been part of the team that's been working on 5 1 this. 2 And I endorse basically everything that 3 Mr. Kinnee has said. There is data. Part of the 4 problem is the expense of the data. The person who has 5 custody of it is asking a rather dear price for it. 6 And with the budget we currently have, we're -- 7 the difficulty -- part of the difficulty is getting 8 enough of it to be, in the eyes of staff, statistically 9 significant. 10 So, we're continuing to work on that and 11 several other sources of data that we think will come 12 through. It's just going to take more time. 13 We appreciate the Board's forbearance and the 14 cooperation of staff. 15 Thank you. 16 MS. STEEL: Thank you very much. 17 Actually, I'm very disappointed that, you know, 18 we have to suspend this. 19 But as soon as we gather some data, then, you 20 know, we're going to reopen it. 21 So, right now then, you know, we're going to 22 just suspend it and then we're going to wait until we 23 get the data. 24 MR. MIETHKE: Thanks very much. 25 MS. STEEL: Okay, thank you. 26 My second item on our agenda is adoption of the 27 Assessors' Handbook Section 215. 28 And Mr. Dean Kinnee is going to give us the 6 1 rest of the report. 2 MR. KINNEE: Thank you. 3 We're asking the Committee approve adoption and 4 publication of the revised Assessors' Handbook, Section 5 215, Assessment Map Standards for Manual Systems. 6 This actually is one of our oldest handbook 7 sections. I was able to find a 1943 version of it out 8 there. 9 We have updated it numerous times over the 10 decades, the most recent in 1992. 11 The revision before you is -- it was just 12 updated to check statutory references, regulations, we 13 did some format changings -- changes. 14 We sent out a draft late last year, received 15 very minor comments. We incorporated those. Sent out a 16 second draft, received no comments on that. 17 So, we believe we have a noncontroversial item 18 here before you and ask the Committee to approve 19 adoption of it. 20 MS. STEEL: Any questions? 21 Actually, we have a digital is coming out and 22 we going to call it -- is it Handbook 216? 23 MR. HARRIS: Yeah, I think it will -- 24 MS. STEEL: Something like that because right 25 now everything is digitalized. 26 But a lot of assessors still using those, you 27 know, maps that they draw on the, like, papers. 28 So, yeah, we are actually moving forward with 7 1 technology. 2 And thank you very much for your report. 3 Do we -- any motion for this? 4 MS. YEE: I'll move adoption of the proposed 5 revisions. 6 MR. HORTON: Second. 7 MS. STEEL: Thank you very much. 8 Member Betty Yee make the motion and second by 9 Mr. Horton. 10 And it's adopted and this concludes our 11 Property Tax Committee meeting. 12 Thank you. 13 MR. KINNEE: Thank you. 14 MS. OLSON: That concludes our Property Tax 15 Committee. 16 ---o0o--- 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 8 1 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE 2 3 State of California ) 4 ) ss 5 County of Sacramento ) 6 7 I, JULI PRICE JACKSON, Hearing Reporter for the 8 California State Board of Equalization certify that on 9 APRIL 13, 2010 I recorded verbatim, in shorthand, to the 10 best of my ability, the proceedings in the 11 above-entitled hearing; that I transcribed the shorthand 12 writing into typewriting; and that the preceding pages 1 13 through 8 constitute a complete and accurate 14 transcription of the shorthand writing. 15 16 Dated: JULY 21, 2010 17 18 19 ____________________________ 20 JULI PRICE JACKSON 21 Hearing Reporter 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 9