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Committee advances bill adding due process to county chapter 8 tax-sale process
Summary
AB 418 would create a notice-and-hearing process for county tax collectors using Chapter 8 tax sales, responding to legal concerns raised by the U.S. Supreme Court's Tyler v. Hennepin decision; the Senate committee voted 5-0 to send the bill to the Judiciary Committee.
Assemblymember Wilson, presented AB 418 to the Senate Committee on Tax and Revenue, proposing a standardized process for county tax collectors when disposing of tax-defaulted property through Chapter 8 sales. Supporters said the bill adds administrative hearings and a clarified valuation standard so property owners have an administrative remedy if they dispute the sale price.
"AB 418 creates a process that California's county tax collectors will follow when utilizing the chapter 8 sales process," Rogers (presenting on behalf of Assemblymember Wilson) said. He explained that Chapter 7 sales operate as public auctions while Chapter 8 sales negotiate prices with qualified bidders, such as public agencies and nonprofits that use properties for affordable housing or open-space preservation.
The hearing explicitly referenced the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Tyler v. Hennepin. Parker Hunt, Tehama County treasurer–tax collector and vice president of the California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors (CACTTC), said the bill strikes a balance by adding due-process hearings and using a tax-sale valuation standard rather than an open-market fair-market-value standard.
Parker Hunt told the committee that California’s long five-year tax-default timeline and the low value of many defaulted properties make a negotiated Chapter 8 sale a practical tool for counties. He said the bill’s amendments — including a 45-day notice period and an administrative hearing — respond to legal concerns while preserving an efficient disposition method.
Representatives from the California State Association of Counties, California Housing Partnership, urban and rural county groups, and other county officials testified in support. The committee voted 5-0 to pass AB 418 to the Judiciary Committee.
Supporters said the bill adds procedural safeguards, including notice and hearings, and redefines the valuation standard to "tax sale value" to reflect counties’ role as sellers of last resort. No witnesses testified in opposition during the hearing.
