BILL NUMBER: SB 516 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 24, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 28, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 29, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Torlakson)
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add and repeal Article 4.5 (commencing with
Section 18736) of Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code, and to add Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 2200) to Division 2.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to the California Youth Legislature.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 516, as amended, DeSaulnier. California Youth Legislature.
Existing law establishes the California Senior Legislature to
provide model legislation for older citizens and advocate for the
needs of seniors. This law establishes in the State Treasury the
California Fund for Senior Citizens to receive contributions from tax
return designations to support the sessions of the California Senior
Legislature. Existing law authorizes individual taxpayers to
contribute amounts in excess of their tax liability for the support
of specified funds or accounts.
This bill would establish the California Youth Legislature,
composed of students ages 14 to 18 years, inclusive, and, subject to
specified considerations, to provide model legislation and advocate
for the needs of youth. The California Youth Legislature would be
charged with examining and discussing policy and fiscal issues
affecting the interests, needs, and conditions of the youth of
California and with formally advising and making recommendations to
the Legislature and the Governor on specific issues affecting youth.
The bill would create the California Youth Legislature Advisory
Committee , the members of which would serve without salary
, and which would be chaired by the chair of the
Joint Committee on Rules and composed of appointed representatives of
organizations with expertise on issues facing youths, which, among
other duties, would appoint members of the youth legislature. The
bill would require the advisory committee to enter into an
interagency agreement with the Joint Committee on Rules to carry out
necessary administrative functions. The advisory committee also would
be charged with determining when there are sufficient funds to
support the program and if it determines that there are insufficient
funds to cover all costs, the activities of the California Youth
Legislature would cease.
The bill would create in the State Treasury the
California Fund for Youth to receive contributions from tax return
designations to support the sessions of the California Youth
Legislature. This bill would provide for the repeal of this
contribution provision for this fund on January 1 of the 5th taxable
year following the first appearance of the California Fund for Youth
on the tax return or on January 1 of an earlier calendar year, if the
Franchise Tax Board estimates that the annual contribution amount
will be less than $250,000, or an adjusted amount, as specified, for
subsequent taxable years provide that funds for the
California Youth Legislature wo uld be allocated from the
California Youth Leadership Fund to be created by AB 2017
of the 2009- 10 Regular Session, upon appro
priation by the Legislature. That fund would be supported by taxpayer
designations by individuals of specified amounts in excess of their
tax liability . The bill also would authorize the California
Youth Legislature to accept gifts and grants from any source to help
perform its functions.
The bill would provide that it would become operative only if it
and AB 2017 are both enacted and become effective on or before
January 1, 2011.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 4.5 (commencing with Section
18736) is added to Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:
Article 4.5. California Fund for Youth
18736. (a) Any individual may designate on the tax return that a
contribution in excess of the tax liability, if any, be made to the
California Fund for Youth, which is established by Section 18737.
(b) The contributions shall be in full dollar amounts and may be
made individually by each signatory on a joint return.
(c) A designation under subdivision (a) shall be made for any
taxable year on the original return for that taxable year, and once
made shall be irrevocable. In the event that payments and credits
reported on the return, together with any other credits associated
with the individual's account, do not exceed the individual's tax
liability, the return shall be treated as though no designation has
been made.
(d) If an individual designates a contribution to more than one
account or fund listed on the tax return, and the amount available is
insufficient to satisfy the total amount designated, the
contribution shall be allocated among the designees on a pro rata
basis.
(e) The Franchise Tax Board shall revise the form of the return to
include a space labeled "California Fund for Youth" to allow for the
designation permitted under subdivision (a). The form shall also
include in the instructions information that the contribution may be
in the amount of one dollar ($1) or more and that the contribution
shall be used to conduct the sessions of the California Youth
Legislature and to support its ongoing activities on behalf of youth.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision, a voluntary contribution
designation for the California Fund for Youth shall not be added on
the tax return until another voluntary contribution designation is
removed.
(g) A deduction shall be allowed under Article 6 (commencing with
Section 17201) of Chapter 3 of Part 10 for any contribution made
pursuant to subdivision (a).
18737. There is hereby established in the State Treasury the
California Fund for Youth to receive contributions made pursuant to
Section 18736. The Franchise Tax Board shall notify the Controller of
both the amount of money paid by taxpayers in excess of their tax
liability and the amount of refund money that taxpayers have
designated pursuant to Section 18736 to be transferred to the
California Fund for Youth. The Controller shall transfer from the
Personal Income Tax Fund to the California Fund for Youth an amount
not in excess of the sum of the amounts designated by individuals
pursuant to Section 18736 for payment into that fund.
18738. All moneys transferred to the California Fund for Youth
pursuant to Section 18736, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
shall be allocated as follows:
(a) To the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for
reimbursement of all costs incurred by the Franchise Tax Board and
the Controller in connection with their duties under this article.
(b) The balance to the California Youth Legislature, to be
allocated for the ongoing activities of the California Youth
Legislature.
(c) All moneys allocated pursuant to subdivision (b) of this
section may be carried over from the year in which they were
received.
(d) The funds allocated to the California Youth Legislature for
the purpose of funding the activities of the California Youth
Legislature shall be spent pursuant to the purview of the Joint
Committee on Rules of the California Legislature in a manner
consistent with the bylaws of the California Youth Legislature,
created by the California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee,
established through a majority vote of the California Youth
Legislature Advisory Committee.
18739. (a) This article shall remain in effect only until January
1 of the fifth taxable year following the first appearance of the
California Fund for Youth on the tax return, and as of that date is
repealed.
(b) (1) By September 1 of the second calendar year, and by
September 1 of each subsequent calendar year that the California Fund
for Youth appears on a tax return, the Franchise Tax Board shall do
all of the following:
(A) Determine the minimum contribution amount required to be
received during the next calendar year for the fund to appear on the
tax return for the taxable year that includes that next calendar
year.
(B) Provide written notification to the California Youth
Legislature of the amount determined in subparagraph (A).
(C) Determine whether the amount of contributions estimated to be
received during the calendar year will equal or exceed the minimum
contribution amount determined by the Franchise Tax Board for the
calendar year pursuant to subparagraph (A). The Franchise Tax Board
shall estimate the amount of contributions to be received by using
the actual amounts received and an estimate of the contributions that
will be received by the end of that calendar year.
(2) If the Franchise Tax Board determines that the amount of
contributions estimated to be received during a calendar year will
not at least equal the minimum contribution amount for the calendar
year, this article is repealed with respect to taxable years
beginning on or after January 1 of that calendar year.
(3) For purposes of this section, the minimum contribution amount
for a calendar year means two hundred fifty thousand dollars
($250,000) for the second calendar year after the first appearance of
the California Fund for Youth on the personal income tax return or
the adjusted minimum contribution amount adjusted pursuant to
subdivision (c).
(c) For each calendar year, beginning with the third calendar year
that the California Fund for Youth appears on the tax return, the
Franchise Tax Board shall adjust, on or before September 1 of that
calendar year, the minimum estimated contribution amount specified in
subdivision (b) as follows:
(1) The minimum estimated contribution amount for the calendar
year shall be an amount equal to the product of the minimum
contribution amount for the prior September 1 multiplied by the
inflation factor adjustment as specified in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (h) of Section 17041, rounded off to the nearest dollar.
(2) The inflation factor adjustment used for the calendar year
shall be based on the figures for the percentage change in the
California Consumer Price Index received on or before August 1 of the
calendar year pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of
Section 17041.
(d) Notwithstanding the repeal of this article, any contribution
amounts designated pursuant to this article prior to its repeal shall
continue to be transferred and disbursed in accordance with this
article as in effect immediately prior to that repeal.
SEC. 2. SECTION 1. Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 2200) is added to Division 2.5 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER 4. CALIFORNIA YOUTH LEGISLATURE
2200. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the needs of
California's youth can best be assessed by California's youth.
(b) The Legislature recognizes that there are over 9,000,000
youths under the age of 19 years in California, and an additional
3,000,000 more young adults between the ages of 18 years and 24
years.
(c) The Legislature recognizes that all young people need five key
developmental resources in order to become productive citizens:
caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effective education,
and opportunities to help others. The Legislature further recognizes
that young people who receive more of these developmental resources
fare better than young people who receive fewer, and that those young
people are more likely to avoid violence, contribute to their
communities, and achieve high grades in school. The Legislature
further recognizes the significant number of California's youth who
live disadvantaged lives. Of those youths, an estimated 200,000
minors and thousands more youths ages 18 years to 24 years,
inclusive, experience homelessness each year. Another 80,000 youths
are in the foster care system, over 2,500 youths in California
currently occupy juvenile justice facilities, and more than 3,000
youths are on parole from those facilities. Youth who are homeless,
in the juvenile justice system, or in foster care have limited
opportunities to participate in the policies
policy process that ultimately impacts their well-being.
(d) The Legislature recognizes that there are limited civic
engagement opportunities for these disconnected and disadvantaged
youths, especially opportunities developed and designed for and with
them in mind.
(e) The Legislature is alarmed that hundreds of thousands of
California youth are among the two-thirds of America's children and
youth recently identified by the America's Promise Alliance as not
receiving sufficient developmental resources to safely put them on
the path to adulthood. The Legislature also is concerned that the
high school completion rate is less than 60 percent for low-income
students and students of color in California, that gang and youth
violence continue to be a concern and although birth rates to teen
mothers have decreased, "teen pregnancy and parenting" continues to
be a significant social problem in California. The Legislature is
encouraged, however, by research indicating that providing more of
the five developmental resources for more young people can help
prevent many of these problems, and that millions of dollars in later
prison, health, and welfare costs can be avoided by providing more
developmental resources for more young people now.
(f) The Legislature also agrees with the America's Promise
Alliance's call for greater collaboration and integration in working
to turn failure into action and improve the lives of young people at
risk and with the actions of the more than 20 states that have
committed their state resources for the creation of statewide
entities charged with improving the developmental well-being of their
children and youth.
(g) The California Youth Legislature shall be established through
this chapter and shall operate according to the procedures set forth
in this chapter to provide model legislation and advocate for the
needs of youth.
2201. (a) The California Youth Legislature shall be
initially composed of 40 members and shall be expanded to
120 members as funding becomes available, at whic h time
it shall be divided into two houses, the California Youth
Senate, composed of 40 members, and the California Youth Assembly,
composed of 80 members.
(b) Members of the California Youth Legislature shall serve
two-year terms.
(c) Members of the California Youth Legislature shall be ages 14
to 18, inclusive, and currently enrolled in a California junior high,
middle, or high school, or participating in a nonpublic, home-based
educational program or a general equivalency degree program.
2202. (a) The members of the California Youth Legislature shall
be appointed by the California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee.
Each Member of the Senate and each Member of the Assembly
may nominate one youth from his or her respective district to apply
for the program.
(b) Members of the Senate and Members of the Assembly, in
making their nominations, and members of the California
Youth Legislature Advisory Committee, in making their appointments,
shall take into consideration that the members of the California
Youth Legislature represent the racial, ethnic, socioeconomic,
cultural, physical, and educational diversity of California.
Particular emphasis should be placed on reaching out to at-risk or
disadvantaged youth to serve as members of the California Youth
Legislature, as their participation will provide keen insight
to into many of the issues that youth
face in their day-to-day lives.
2203. (a) The California Youth Legislature's main policy goal
will be to provide meaningful opportunities for actual civic
engagement to improve the quality of life for California's
disconnected and disadvantaged youth. Furthermore, youths involved
with the California Youth Legislature will make meaningful
recommendations regarding legislation and policies that impact their
own lives and the lives of the thousands of other youths in
California whose voices often go unheard.
(b) The California Youth Legislature shall do all of the
following:
(1) Examine and discuss policy and fiscal issues affecting the
interests, needs, and conditions of the youth of California.
(2) Formally advise and make recommendations to the Legislature
and the Governor on specific issues affecting youth, including, but
not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Education.
(B) Employment.
(C) Access to state and local government services.
(D) The environment.
(E) Behavioral and physical health.
(F) Safety.
(G) Technology.
(H) Criminal justice.
(I) Homelessness.
(J) Foster care.
(K) Child welfare.
(L) Emancipation.
(M) Financial literacy.
(N) Substance abuse.
(O) Driver's license requirements.
(P) Poverty.
(Q) Increased youth participation in state and local government.
(R) Any other policy or fiscal issues deemed appropriate by the
California Youth Legislature.
(3) Consult with any existing local level youth advisory
commissions and community-based, grassroots youth-led organizations
for input and potential solutions on issues related to youth.
(4) To complete its duties, the California Youth Legislature shall
convene and conduct meetings according to its bylaws, created by the
California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee to fulfill the
intentions of this chapter.
(c) The California Youth Legislature shall act as an
information center on California youth policy and fiscal issues,
including, but not limited to, the issues listed in subdivision (b).
When available, funds shall be allocated to enable individual youths
to travel to the State Capitol to learn the legislative process and,
on occasion, to testify at hearings on legislation.
2204. (a) The California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee
shall be established and shall serve as the advisory board to the
California Youth Legislature regarding the development,
implementation, and administration of the program as provided in this
chapter.
(b) (1) The California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee shall
be chaired by the chair of the Joint Committee on Rules, or his or
her designee. The Joint Committee on Rules shall appoint members of
the California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee.
(2) The California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee shall be
composed of, but not limited to, appointed representatives from
statewide nonprofit youth organizations, community-based nonprofit
organizations that serve youth or youth-related issues, and an
appointed representative of a local education
educational agency or school district or its appointed
designee. The California Health and Human Services Agency may also,
but is not required to, appoint a member of the California Youth
Legislature Advisory Committee.
(3) To assure ensure that members of
the California Youth Legislature have the support they may need
given their unique situation, members of the California Youth
Legislature Advisory Committee must have experience and training
working with youths ages 14 to 18 years, inclusive, on the issues
described in subdivision (b) of Section 2203 and have special
experience in civic engagement and advocacy and at least one of the
following issue areas affecting youth:
(A) Crisis prevention or intervention.
(B) Drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse prevention or intervention.
(C) Foster care.
(D) Juvenile justice.
(E) Homelessness.
(F) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights and social
justice.
(G) Mental health.
(c) (1) The California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee shall
determine the time, location, and number of annual meetings, but
shall meet no less than four times per once
each year.
(2) The California Youth Legislature shall enter into a mutually
agreed-upon interagency agreement with the Joint Committee on Rules
to carry out administrative duties related to its program.
(3) The California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee shall
submit an annual budget and report to the Joint Committee on Rules.
(d) (1) The California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee shall
determine when there are sufficient funds to support the program. If
the committee determines there are insufficient funds to cover all
costs, the activities of the California Youth Legislature shall
cease.
(2) State funds shall not be used to support the California Youth
Legislature except as provided in Article 4.5 (commencing with
Section 18736) of Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code.
(e) (1) The California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee shall
develop and provide applications for the California Youth Legislature
and collect applications from youths who have been
nominated by legislators and other youths who would like to
apply.
(2) The California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee shall
provide legislators with information on the program to
promote in their districts as well as provide outreach to various
youth organizations determine ways to promote
the program and make available applications
available .
(3) The California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee shall
establish criteria for the selection of youths, collect applications,
and make appointments based on the applications submitted and the
purposes of this chapter.
(4) The California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee shall not
discriminate based on race, religious creed, color, national origin,
age, gender, marital status, sex, or sexual orientation.
(f) The members of the California Youth Legislature
Advisory Committee may develop criteria for granting of
funds to a nonprofit agency with experience serving disconnected or
at-risk youths to administer the California Youth Legislature or
various duties required by this chapter shall serve
voluntarily and shall not receive a salary .
2205. (a) The funds for the California Youth Legislature shall be
allocated from the California Fund for Youth
Youth Leadership Fund pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with
Section 18736) of Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code, or from private funds directed
to the Joint Committee on Rules and allocated to the California Youth
Legislature Advisory Committee for the purpose of funding activities
of the California Youth Legislature.
(b) The California Youth Legislature may accept gifts and grants
from any source, public or private, to help perform its functions,
pursuant to this chapter.
(c) The No more than 10 percent of the
funds allocated to the California Youth Legislature Advisory
Committee for the purpose of funding activities of the California
Youth Legislature may be used for administrative costs.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in
subdivision (c), the California Youth Legislature Advisory
Committee shall have the authority to define its program and utilize
its funds in any way necessary to carry out the duties of this
chapter, including partnering with nonprofit groups or state
agencies to perform various duties required by this chapter, as
long as the program or activity is not in violation of a state law
or regulation.
(d) (1) The California Youth Legislature Advisory Committee may
grant funds to a nonprofit agency to administer the California Youth
Legislature.
(2) No more than 5 percent of the grant award may be used for
administrative costs of the selected agency.
SEC. 2. This bill shall become operative only if
this bill and Assembly Bill 2017 of the 2009-10 Regular Session are
both enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2011.