California Board of Equalization faces joint hearing about its future

California’s Board of Equalization has faced significant challenges and scandals in recent years, leading the California legislature and Governor Brown to strip the Board of the vast majority of its responsibility in 2017, including removing all of its non-Constitutional tax administration duties and transferring them over to the newly createdDepartment of Tax and Fee Administration.

This week, a joint hearing of the Senate Governance & Finance Committee and theSenate Committee on Budget & Fiscal Review Subcommittee 4 will be held to evaluate the current operations at the Board of Equalization, discuss the current strengths and weaknesses of the BOE and have a conversation about what its future looks like.

“There have been some real challenges at the Board of Equalization over the past several years,”Senator Mike McGuire said. “As the reorganization and shift of responsibilities and staff to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration has taken hold, it’s time the state evaluates its current operation and has an open dialogue with all sides about what the future looks like.”

The hearing: “140 Years Young: What is the Future for the State Board of Equalization after the Taxpayer Transparency and Fairness Act” will be held this Wednesday, March 6 at 9 am.

“As the new chair of Senate Budget Subcommittee 4, I am looking forward to the discussion about the future of the Board and the appropriate level of resources for the BOE, the new Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and the Office of Tax Appeals. I hope that this informational hearing will provide some important context for upcoming budget discussions,”Senator Maria Elena Durazo said.

State Controller Betty Yee, as well as BOE Chair Malia Cohen and the BOE Executive Director, will be testifying during this week’s hearing. Each will be discussing the current duties of Board of Equalization members and will be asked to discuss the future direction of the Board.

Also testifying during Wednesday’s hearing are:

Calaveras County Assessor Leslie Davis, President, California Assessors Association

Rich Benson, Assessor, County of Marin (Retired)

Therese Twomey, California Taxpayers Association

Samantha Corbin, California Tax Reform Association

The hearing will be livestreamed atwww.senate.ca.gov.

More information about the hearing can be found at https://sgf.senate.ca.gov