CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 25891-25904
PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE
SECTION 25891-25904
25891. A district may levy, and collect or cause to be collected,
taxes for any lawful purpose.
25892. If, in the opinion of the board, the revenues will not be
sufficient for any and all lawful purposes the board shall levy a tax
for such purpose or purposes and fix the amount of money necessary
to be raised therefor by taxation.
25892.1. (a) The district board may impose a special tax pursuant
to Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 50075) of Chapter 1 of Part 1
of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code. The special taxes
shall be applied uniformly to all taxpayers or all real property
within the district, or any portion of the district that is
coterminous with the boundaries of a city or the boundaries of
contiguous cities, including any properties added to the district,
except that unimproved property may be taxed at a lower rate than
improved property.
(b) The proceeds of the special taxes shall be used to provide,
within the area taxed, for the operation, maintenance, or acquisition
of any public improvement or utility for transportation purposes.
25893. The board shall, at the time of fixing the general tax levy
and in the manner provided for the general tax levy, levy and collect
annually until the district's bonds are paid, or until there is a
sum in the treasury of the district set apart for that purpose to
meet all sums coming due for principal and interest on the bonds as
they become due a tax sufficient to pay the annual interest on the
bonds and such part of the principal thereof as becomes due before
the proceeds of a tax levied at the next general tax levy will be
available. If the maturity of the indebtedness created by the issue
of bonds begins more than one year after the date of the issuance
thereof, the tax shall be levied and collected annually at the time
and in the manner aforesaid, sufficient to pay the interest on the
indebtedness as it falls due and to constitute a sinking fund for the
payment of the principal on or before maturity.
25894. The taxes required to be levied and collected on account of
interest, principal, and sinking fund of district bonds shall be in
addition to all other taxes levied for district purposes, and shall
be collected at the time and in the same manner as other district
taxes are collected, and be used for no other purpose than the
payment of the bonds and accruing interest.
25895. The board may provide for the assessment, levy, and
collection of taxes by the district, including the sale of property
to the district for delinquent taxes, with penalties, interest, and
cost.
25896. The board may elect to avail itself of the assessments made
by the assessors of the counties in which the district is situated,
and of the assessments made by the State Board of Equalization for
those counties, and may take such assessments as the basis for
district taxation and have its taxes collected by the county
officials if the board declares its election so to do by resolution
or ordinance and files a certified copy of the resolution or
ordinance on or before the first day of August with the auditors of
the counties in which the district is situated. Thereafter, each year
and until otherwise provided by the board, all assessments shall be
made for the district by the State Board of Equalization and the
county assessors, and all taxes shall be collected for the district
by the tax collectors, of the counties in which the district is
situated.
25897. In such case the county auditor shall, on or before the
third Monday in August of each year, transmit to the board a
statement in writing showing the total value of all property within
the district, ascertained from the assessments referred to in Section
25896 as equalized.
25898. In case the board elects to avail itself of the assessments
referred to in Section 25896 it shall, on or before the first weekday
in September, or if such weekday falls upon a holiday then on the
first business day thereafter, fix the rate of taxes, designating the
number of cents upon each hundred dollars, using as a basis the
value of property transmitted to the board by the county auditors,
which rate of taxation shall be sufficient to raise the amount
previously fixed by the board. These acts by the board shall
constitute a valid assessment of the property and a valid levy of the
taxes so fixed.
25899. The board shall immediately after fixing the rate of taxes
as above provided transmit to the county auditors of the counties in
which the district is situated a statement of the rate of taxes fixed
by the board.
25900. The district's taxes so levied shall be collected at the
same time and in the same manner as county taxes. When collected the
net amount, ascertained as provided in this article, shall be paid to
the treasurer of the district, under the general requirements and
penalties provided by law for the settlement of other taxes. The
district may adopt the alternative procedure of tax collection and
apportionment established by Chapter 3, Part 8, Division 1 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code and any amendments thereof; provided,
however, that the district may thereafter abandon said alternative
procedure at the end of any fiscal year of the district.
25901. Whenever any real property situate in any district which has
availed itself of the provisions of Section 25896 has been sold for
taxes and has been redeemed, the money paid for redemption shall be
apportioned and paid to the district by the county treasurers
receiving it in the proportion which the tax due to the district
bears to the total tax for which the property was sold.
25902. The compensation to be charged by and paid to any county for
the performance of services under this article shall be fixed by
agreement between the board of supervisors of the county and the
board. The compensation shall in no event exceed one-half of 1
percent of all money collected for the district. The compensation
collected by the county shall be placed to the credit of the county
salary fund.
25903. All taxes levied under this part are a lien on the property
on which they are levied. Unless the board has by ordinance otherwise
provided, the enforcement of the collection of such taxes shall be
in the same manner and by the same means provided by law for the
enforcement of liens for county taxes, all the provisions of law
relating to the enforcement of the latter being made a part of this
part, so far as applicable.
25904. Whenever one or more special transit service districts are
created and established pursuant to Chapter 10.5 (commencing at
Section 27401), taxes in excess of one cent ($0.01) per one hundred
dollars ($100) of assessed valuation shall not thereafter be levied
against any property not within the boundaries of a special transit
service district, excepting, however, taxes sufficient to pay the
principal or interest or both on any bonded indebtedness theretofore
or thereafter incurred by a district as a whole. The creation of a
special transit service district does not invalidate, in any manner,
any taxes or assessments previously levied or assessed against any
property of the district, either within or without the boundaries of
a special transit service district.