BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 583|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 583
Author: Vargas (D), et al.
Amended: 5/11/11
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/27/11
AYES: Wolk, Huff, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hancock, Hernandez,
Kehoe, La Malfa, Liu
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Personal income tax: voluntary contributions
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill extends and reenacts the Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)/Lou Gehrig's Disease Research Fund
to January 1, 2016. The fund will be added to the tax
return when another voluntary contribution funds (VCFs) is
removed or as soon as space is available on the tax return.
ANALYSIS : Existing state law allows taxpayers to
contribute money to one or more of 15 VCFs by checking a
box on their state income tax return. California law
requires contributions made through check-offs to be made
from taxpayers' own resources and not from their tax
liability, as is possible on federal tax returns.
Check-off amounts may be claimed as charitable
contributions on taxpayers' tax returns during the
subsequent year.
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Existing law allows the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to design
tax returns to provide for the designation of contributions
to specified funds either on the return itself or on a
separate schedule that must be attached to the return.
With a few exceptions, VCFs remain on the return until they
are either repealed or fail to meet their minimum
contribution amount. The minimum contribution amounts are
adjusted annually for inflation and typically take effect
in the fund's second year. The FTB must determine, by
September 1st of each year, the minimum contribution amount
required for each fund to remain on the form for the
following calendar year and whether estimated contributions
to each fund will be less than the minimum contribution
amount for that calendar year. If the FTB estimates that a
fund will fail to meet the minimum contribution amount,
that fund is repealed effective for taxable years beginning
on or after January 1st of the following calendar year.
This bill extends and reenacts the ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease
Research Fund to January 1, 2016. The fund will be added
to the tax return when another VCF is removed or as soon as
space is available on the tax return.
Note:
The ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease Research Fund first appeared
on the 2008 personal income tax return but was removed from
the 2010 return for failing to meet its minimum
contribution requirement amount of $250,000 in the second
year of its existence. Contributions of $220,401 and
$114,051 were made to the fund in calendar years 2009 and
2010, respectively. The fund's original repeal date was
January 1, 2013.
Comments
Following is a list of 2011 check-offs and contribution
amounts received in 2010:
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|Alzheimer's Disease/Related Disorders |$426,417 |
|Fund | |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
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|Arts Council Fund |Initial Tax Return |
| |2010 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|CA Breast Cancer Research Fund |$519,728 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|CA Cancer Research Fund |$275,587 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|CA Firefighters' Memorial Fund |$207,455 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|CA Fund for Senior Citizens |$296,144 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|CA Peace Officer Memorial Foundation |$135,250 |
|Fund | |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|CA Police Activities League Fund |Initial Tax Return |
| |2010 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|CA Sea Otter Fund |$263,543 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|CA Seniors Special Fund |$59,192 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|CA Veterans Homes Fund |Initial Tax Return |
| |2010 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|Emergency Food for Families Fund |$487,333 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|Rare & Endangered Species |$578,215 |
|Preservation Program | |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|Safely Surrendered Baby Fund |Initial Tax Return |
| |2010 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------|
|State Children's Trust for the |$448,081 |
|Prevention of Child Abuse | |
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Related Legislation
SB 164 (Simitian) extends the repeal dates of both the
State Children's Trust Fund for the Prevention of Child
Abuse and the Rare and Endangered Species Preservation
Program from January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2018.
SB 803 (DeSaulnier) creates a VCF designation on the
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personal income tax form for taxpayers to contribute to
California Youth Leadership Project.
AB 233 (Hall) creates a VCF designation on the personal
income tax form for taxpayers to contribute to the
California YMCA Youth and Government Fund.
AB 564 (Smyth) creates a VCF designation on the personal
income tax form for taxpayers to contribute to the
Municipal Shelter Spay-Neuter Fund.
AB 764 (Swanson) creates a VCF designation on the personal
income tax form for taxpayers to contribute to the
Victim-Witness Assistance Fund for community-based
organization that serve minor victims of human trafficking.
AB 971 (Monning) extends the repeal date of the California
Sea Otter Fund by five years.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
The FTB estimates this bill will result in a revenue loss
of $20,000 each fiscal year the ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease
Research Fund is in place.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/11/11)
California ALS Advocacy Committee
Greater Sacramento Chapter of the ALS Association
Greater San Diego Chapter of the ALS Association
Lockton Insurance Brokers, LLC
Orange County Chapter of the ALS Association
Pacific ALS Consortium
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states:
"Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive
neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons in
the brain and the spinal cord. It is fatal to all who
are diagnosed with the disease. Approximately every 90
minutes, someone is diagnosed with ALS, and every 90
minutes someone else dies from ALS. For unknown reasons,
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veterans are 50 percent more likely to be diagnosed than
the average population. Most people who develop ALS are
between the ages of 40 and 70, with an average age in the
mid-50s at the time of diagnosis, without regard to race,
residence or background.
"Since ALS was identified by the scientific community
nearly 150 years ago, little advancements have been made.
There is no known cause, no known prevention, no
diagnostic test, no long-term treatment, and no known
cure. The need for research is extraordinary. SB 583
creates an opportunity to generate research dollars in
the hopes of changing the prospects of those diagnosed
with the disease."
AGB:kc 5/11/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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