Board of Equalization sets 2026 unitary values, staff warns of discovery workload from VOIPE entities

The Board of Equalization on May 27 adopted staff-recommended 2026 unitary values for state-assessed property, approving industry-level totals after a daylong presentation by the State Assessed Properties Division.

Jack Mcool, chief of the division, told the board the aggregate unitary value is roughly 2.3% higher than last year after appeals are accounted for. "This year's unitary values are 2.3% higher than last year's unitary values," McCool said, adding that the gas and electric industry remains the largest share of total value, accounting for about three-quarters of the total.

Staff highlighted different industry trajectories: gas and electric values rose about 3% driven by replacement of older assets and investments in wildfire hardening; pipeline values were largely flat; railroad values declined amid shipping headwinds; and a new group of VOIPE (voice-over-IP) entities was added to the state's assessment rolls.

"We added assessments for 61 VOIPE entities this year," McCool said. But he stressed the added workload: "We started with approximately 400 identified entities through the CPU database and we still have close to 200 entities we need to work through to determine if they own assessable property in California." Vice Chair Gaines and other board members pressed staff on how much additional staffing would be needed; staff said budget change proposals (BCPs) for technology and staff increases are in the current governor's budget package for the agency.

Board members took a series of motions to adopt values by industry group. Chair Liieber called industry votes in sequence (gas & electric, pipelines, railroads, electric generation and telecommunications) and the board approved SAPD's recommendations in each group. Vice Chair Gaines recused on four named companies; the remaining members later voted to adopt values for those companies without him. Clerk roll calls show participating members voted "I" on each motion.

McCool said SAPD will now mail notices of unitary value to each state assesse and begin the allocation step, assigning each company's unitary total to the counties where its property is located. "Once the board sets the unitary values, SAPD will mail a notice of unitary value to each state assesse," he said. Allocation work is expected to be completed by mid-June ahead of the board's July role adoption.

The board also heard questions about wildfire-related revenue frameworks and insurer contracts: Controller Cohen and other members asked whether recent wildfires and new state funds could change future assessments. Staff said the assessment methodology has not changed materially but that they continue to monitor regulatory and contract developments that affect valuation going forward.

The board's action closes the first step of a three-step process McCool described: determining total unitary value, allocating those totals to counties, and presenting a final role for July adoption. The votes on industry groups were recorded as unanimous among participating members.