Received this from Assemblyman Anthony Portantino's office:
On this final day of the legislative session and a year after the Station Fire that prompted the legislation, Assemblymember Anthony Portantino’s (D-La Cañada Flintridge) bill to bring tax relief to residents who suffered losses in the Station Fire and natural disasters in 11 counties has passed the Legislature. It now goes to the Governor for signature.
AB 1662 will provide state tax exemptions to homeowners and businesses that are forced to repair or rebuild because of a natural disaster. The Station Fire roared across the San Gabriel foothills last fall destroying 209 structures, 89 of which were houses. The heavy mudslides and flash flooding that followed in January and February destroyed or damaged at least 86 homes.
“As we head into another fire season, I am hopeful that Governor Schwarzenegger will sign this bill and provide tax relief for these homeowners,” stated Assemblymember Portantino. “Because it is an urgency measure, it would go into effect immediately once it is signed into law. For those who lost homes and property because of fires, mudslides and other natural disasters, this tax relief cannot come soon enough.”
Here's how it would work: if your home or other property was damaged due to wildfires or other natural disaster, you would be able to claim disaster losses on your state income taxes by filing an amended return for 2009. Homeowners could carry forward those losses for 15 years on their state tax returns. AB 1662 also allows individuals whose homes were destroyed by the wildfires and mudslides to retain their homeowners’ exemption while they are in the process of rebuilding.
When it became clear that Los Angeles wasn’t the only county affected by natural disaster, AB 1662 was amended to include the natural disasters in ten other counties including: Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Calaveras, Monterey, Siskiyou, Imperial, Kern, and Placer counties.
The bill was co-authored by Assemblymember Kevin Jeffries (R- Lake Elsinore) and received bi-partisan support.
