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Clerks urge BOE to curb mass filings by professional tax agents with certification and e‑filing rules
Summary
Clerks and county administrators told the BOE work group that professional tax agents often submit mass, automated appeal filings near deadlines, creating data‑entry backlogs and increased continuances; clerks proposed self‑certification by agents and mandatory electronic filing thresholds as remedies.
County clerks and AAB administrators told the Board of Equalization that mass filings from professional tax agents create administrative burdens and drive postponements and withdrawals, and they proposed targeted rules to reduce speculative or premature bulk submissions.
Bridal Velhakis, chair of the Assessment Appeals Subcommittee for the California Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Association, said counties “are routinely overwhelmed by mass filings submitted by professional tax agent organizations,” often automated and submitted near deadlines. Velhakis told the work group these batches create a domino effect that delays scheduling, increases manual data entry and fuels continuance requests.
The subcommittee proposed two remedies: first, require professional tax agents who file many appeals to self‑certify that they have completed a merits analysis and have a good‑faith basis before submitting an appeal; second, require electronic filing by professional agents when they file more than a specified threshold (the subcommittee suggested 50 applications per calendar year per county) but only where the county offers electronic submission.
Velhakis and other clerks said stricter pre‑submission review by agents would reduce withdrawn appeals and repetitive continuance requests. They suggested the BOE could consider a rule to require timelier exchange of supporting information between parties and stronger guidance on Property Tax Rule 3.23 related to continuances.
Representatives from San Diego and other counties echoed concerns that bulk or premature filings often lead to serial postponement requests and inefficient calendars, and they asked the BOE to prioritize guidance and training for both clerks and large filers to reduce speculative filings and improve calendar reliability.
