SECTIONS 53940-53947 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 53940-53947

53940. This article shall be known and may be cited as the
"Pleasure Riding Tax Law."

53941. The Legislature finds and declares that the owners of
pleasure riding animals receive special benefit from the use of
public areas designated for use by such animals. It is the purpose of
this article to provide for the acquisition and development of
further public areas, including public riding and hiking trails, by a
tax on those persons who receive special benefit from such public
areas.

53942. Pursuant to the provisions of this article, a county or
regional park district may levy a countywide or districtwide tax,
respectively, on horses, mules, or other animals used substantially
for pleasure riding or trail use, not to exceed ten dollars ($10) per
animal per year, for the privilege of access to and use of public
areas designated for use by such animals.

53944. For the purposes of this article, the following animals
shall be deemed not to be used substantially for pleasure riding or
trail use and shall be exempt from the pleasure riding tax, except
that any stock animal so exempted shall be subject to the provisions
of Section 53946:
(a) Any head of stock ridden or used by the owner, his family or
his employee primarily in the carrying on of a business or ranch
operation;
(b) Any head of stock used by the owner for rental use entirely
upon private lands under the jurisdiction of the owner;
(c) Any head of stock used by the owner for rental use primarily
upon a parcel of land belonging to the federal government if the
taxing agency does not use the proceeds of a tax under this article
for improvements within that parcel of land; and
(d) Any other class of animal specifically exempted by the taxing
agency.

53945. Revenue derived from a tax imposed under this article shall
be deposited in a special fund in the county treasury or district
treasury. Such fund may be expended only to defray the reasonable
expense of collecting such tax and for the maintenance, acquistion
and construction of trails for horseback riders and hikers, but
moneys in the fund may be used as local matching moneys for any
federal or state grant for such purposes or for matching funds in the
acquisition and development of a federal or state trails project.

53946. As a method of collecting a tax imposed under this article,
the taxing agency may make payment of the tax a condition precedent
to utilization of riders and hikers' trails by any stock animal
except that evidence of payment of such tax in any other county or
district shall fulfill such condition.

53947. The taxing agency shall provide to the owner of such animal
a record of payment, on durable material, for each animal for which a
tax is paid under this article.