I was in California for a long time. As far as I can remember, the property tax is 1% of the selling price, therefore his property tax should be $430,000 a year. If he didn’t like $35,000, he REALLY ain’t gonna like California property taxes. I don’t know if there is any way for him to get out of it.
By the time we left California around a decade ago, the property tax on our home was 2% of the purchase price. I believe it has gone up from there. (Maybe the percentage depends on your zip code though) Just imagine what the property tax would be without Prop 13! (And yes, it does still hold the taxes down somewhat)