State Controller Releases HUTA Repayment Schedule
City officials received some very important news this week when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 65 into law clarifying the schedule of repayment of the Highway User Tax Account (HUTA) or gas tax to local governments. On Tuesday, Oct. 20 the State Controller released the following repayment schedule:
- July 2009 payment will be repaid on Tuesday, Oct. 27;
- August 2009 payment will be repaid on Wednesday, Oct. 28;
- September 2009 payment will be repaid on Thursday, Oct. 29; and
- October 2009 payment will be repaid on Friday, Oct. 30.
Pursuant to SB 65, the payments from November 2009 through March 2010 will be delayed and paid to local governments in April 2010. The April-June 2010 payments will be made on time.
The State Controller has posted information on its Web site with calculated amounts for the July-September 2009 deferral repayments.
Details
SB 65 is now Chapter 633, Statutes 2009 Urgency.
This legislation contains various state cash flow deferral provisions. Of specific interest and importance to cities and counties are the revisions to the existing HUTA deferral provisions adopted as part of the July budget package in SB X4 16 (Ducheny), which deferred the receipt of local HUTA revenues for a six-month window period from July-December 2009.
The language in SB X4 16 was vague on the repayment schedule, stating that repayment would be made "after Jan.1, 2010." Because the Legislature did not pass SB 65 until mid-October, the timelines in the bill are now dated. However, what is most important is that local agencies now have a schedule to receive the deferred payments.
The SB 65 revisions:
- Clarify that amounts deferred in July and August of 2009 will be repaid to local governments in September.
- Authorize locals to receive September and October revenues as scheduled.
- Establish a new five-month HUTA deferral window period for the months of November and December of 2009, and January, February and March of 2010. Repayment of these deferred revenues is scheduled within two business days of April 28, 2010.
- Contain language that allows local governments to temporarily use Prop. 1B Local Street and Road allocations for HUTA purposes. (Similar language was included in the previous HUTA deferral legislation that the state adopted for cash flow purposes in 2008, AB X3 7, of 2008).
- Contain language requested by the League that also allow local governments to temporarily use any available cash in local special funds.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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