11170-11175
WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE
SECTION 11170-11175
11170. Upon discovery that persons receiving public assistance were improperly granted homeowners' exemptions for fiscal year 1972-1973 and preceding fiscal years, a county may request from the Director of Social Services, as unmet shelter needs, the amounts required to cancel any escape assessment existing at the time of the request. 11171. Upon receipt of funds pursuant to its request, the county shall cancel the escape assessment and any penalty or interest thereon pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 4985) of Chapter 4 of Part 9 of Division 1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, as if it had been imposed, levied, or charged erroneously, and if paid, a refund thereof shall be made. 11172. The receipt of funds shall be deemed as payments by the public assistance recipients and shall be accounted for as tax receipts which may be used for state, county, city, and district purposes. 11173. If an audit by the State Controller results in a reduction of state reimbursements for the homeowners' property tax exemption because of persons described in Section 11170, the county shall make the reimbursements to cities and districts without regard to the Controller's reduction, using the funds described in Sections 11171 and 11172. 11174. The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the public interest and necessary for the public welfare to provide assistance to certain needy persons of limited income and resources in the payment of delinquent property taxes. It is further found and declared that such assistance may in some cases be most appropriately provided through the limitation of escape assessments and the cancellation of such assessments, or by a combination of limitation or cancellation, and assistance payments, rather than merely through assistance payments. 11175. Whenever a county requests additional unmet shelter needs funds so as to cancel escape assessments upon the homes of welfare recipients improperly granted the homeowners' exemption, such request is deemed a voluntary act of the county and the county shall assume the burden of all the costs in compliance with this act. For this reason, the act involves no mandated acts within the meaning of Section 2164.3 of the Revenue and Taxation Code and no state reimbursement pursuant to that section is required.