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Board of Equalization adopts 2025 unitary values; overall statewide total up 8.4%
Summary
The California Board of Equalization on May 28 adopted staff-recommended unitary values for state-assessed properties, a portfolio that increased 8.4% from last year driven largely by investments from the gas and electric industry. The board voted industry-by-industry, with recusal noted for several companies.
The Board of Equalization on May 28 adopted staff-recommended unitary values for state-assessed properties, setting the total 2025 unitary value 8.4% higher than the previous year.
The unitary valuation process, presented by Jack McCool, chief of the State Assessed Properties Division (SAPD), determines the fair market value of assets used in the primary functions of utilities, railroads and other state assessees. McCool told the board that "this year's unitary values are 8.4% higher than last year's unitary values after adjusting for the results of last year's appeals." He said the gas and electric industry accounts for over 74% of the total unitary value and that the four largest utilities alone represent over 70% of the statewide total.
Why it matters: counties use BOE allocations of unitary value to levy local property taxes. Changes in the state-assessed roll flow to county auditors, special districts and school districts as local revenue, and large swings—especially in utilities—can materially affect local budgets.
SAPD described its three-step process: (1) determine each assessee's total unitary value, the matter before the board; (2) allocate that total to counties (work to be completed in mid‑June); and (3) present the final state assessed roll to the board for adoption at the July meeting. McCool emphasized confidentiality constraints for staff recommendations under the Revenue and Taxation Code and Government Code: "the material SAPD provides to the board ... are considered confidential under Revenue and Taxation Code section 833 and Government Code section 15619. As a result, the staff recommended unitary values are not made public prior to adoption of the values," he said.
On industry trends, SAPD told the board the gas and electric industry's increase (about 10% for the industry group) is largely the result of large-scale replacement and new construction by investor-owned utilities, including wildfire-hardening projects and undergrounding of lines. McCool said, "most of these utilities are replacing older property that is severely depreciated with new property that has experienced little to no depreciation yet." He added that pipeline and railroad industries rose roughly 5% and electric generation about 5%, while telecommunications showed mixed results: local telephone values declined about 4.5% and interexchange/fiber investments rose about 7.5%.
Board action followed staff presentations. The board voted industry by industry on staff recommendations: pipeline, electric generation, telecommunications and railroad values were approved. Chairman Gaines recused himself on several items; the board noted recusal when applicable and completed the votes with participating members. For gas and electric, the board adopted staff recommendations excluding three companies for which Gaines did not participate; the remaining four recused-company votes were taken later by the participating members and carried 4–0. Miss Cicchetti called each roll; recorded votes were aye from Chairman Gaines (when participating), Vice Chair Lieber, Member Vasquez, Member Schaeffer and Controller Cohen where applicable.
SAPD said it will mail notices of unitary value to each state assessee in mid‑June after allocations are complete. Those preliminary allocations are intended to give county auditors and budget offices earlier visibility for local budget planning ahead of the board's final adoption in July.
Ending: Board members pressed staff on practical impacts, including whether county auditors protest values (staff said they are often in close communication and raise questions about large changes), and on the role of inflation and tariffs. McCool said some recent inflation effects were seen in telecoms in prior years and that tariffs' effects will appear insofar as they affect industry-specific demand (for example, shipping volumes that can affect rail valuations). Member Vasquez said the board should stay alert to the budgetary consequences for counties with large increases and highlighted wildfire-related replacement as one driver of higher assessed values.
