BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 803 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 803 (DeSaulnier) As Amended August 7, 2012 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :27-11 EDUCATION 7-2 REVENUE & TAXATION 7-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Perea, Beall, Cedillo, | | |Buchanan, | |Fletcher, Fuentes, | | |Butler, Carter, Eng, | |Gordon, Nestande | | |Williams | | | | | | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| |Nays:|Grove, Wagner | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- APPROPRIATIONS 12-5 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, | | | | |Bradford, Charles | | | | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, | | | | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, | | | | |Mitchell, Solorio | | | | | | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, | | | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Establishes the California Youth Leadership Project (CYLP) and creates a new voluntary contribution fund (VCF) check-off program on the personal income tax (PIT) form for voluntary contributions to the California Youth Leadership Fund. Specifically, this bill : 1)Establishes the California Youth Leadership Fund in the State Treasury to receive contributions made by individuals on the state tax return and specifies the following: a) Requires the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to revise the tax SB 803 Page 2 return form to include a space labeled "California Youth Leadership Fund." Requires the form to include in the instructions information that the contribution may be in the amount of $1 or more and that the contribution shall be used to support the CYLP; b) Specifies that a voluntary contribution designation for the California Youth Leadership Fund shall be added on the tax return when another voluntary contribution designation is removed or as soon as space is available on the tax return; c) Requires the moneys transferred to the California Youth Leadership Fund to be allocated to the FTB and the State Controller for reimbursement of all costs incurred by the agencies to administer the provisions in this bill and the California Department of Education (CDE) to provide for the CYLP; and, d) Specifies that the provisions establishing the California Youth Leadership Fund shall repeal on January 1 of the fifth taxable year following the first appearance of the California Youth Leadership Fund on the tax return, or on January 1 of an earlier calendar year, if the FTB determines that the annual contribution amount will be less than $250,000, or an adjusted amount, as specified, for subsequent taxable years. 2)Makes findings and declarations regarding the following: a) the needs of youth in California, particularly youths with disabilities and disadvantaged youths, including those who are homeless, are in foster care, juvenile justice facilities, or on parole from those facilities; b) the limited civic engagement opportunities for these disconnected and disadvantaged youth; and c) that providing more of the five developmental resources (caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effective education, and opportunities to help others) for more young people can help avoid millions of dollars in later prison, health, and welfare costs. 3)Establishes the CYLP under the CDE for the purpose of promoting youth civic engagement through meaningful opportunities to improve the quality of life for California's disconnected and disadvantaged youth. SB 803 Page 3 4)Specifies that the CYLP shall support and promote youth civic engagement by awarding scholarships to youths between 14 and 18 years of age. Specifies that youths awarded scholarships shall be given the opportunity to 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. Authorizes an organization that operates civic engagement programs to submit applications for participation in the project on behalf of interested youth. 5)Specifies that the CYLP shall allocate scholarship award funds to organizations that submit applications on behalf of youth who are selected to receive scholarship awards. Requires the organizations to do all of the following: a) Provide youth participants the tools to examine and discuss policy and fiscal issues affecting the interests, needs, and conditions of the youth of California; b) Provide youth participants the opportunity to formally advise and make recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on specific issues affecting youth, including, but not limited to, education, employment, access to state and local governmental services, the environment, behavioral and physical health, safety, technology, criminal justice, homelessness, foster care, child welfare, emancipation, financial literacy, substance abuse, driver's license requirements, poverty, increased youth participation in state and local government, and any other policy or fiscal issues deemed appropriate by the CDE; c) Provide youth participants the opportunity to 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; d) Provide youth participants the opportunity to convene and conduct meetings to fulfill the purposes of the CYLP; e) Provide youth participants the opportunity to act as an information center on California youth policy and fiscal issues, including, but not limited to, the issues SB 803 Page 4 identified in b) above; and, f) When available, enable individual youth to travel to the State Capitol to learn the legislative process and, on occasion, to testify at legislative hearings. 6)Requires an organization that receives a scholarship award on behalf of youth to use the funds only for youth-related activities pursuant to this bill. 7)Establishes the CYLP Committee to oversee the CYLP and distribute funds collected through the check-off program on the income tax form. 8)Requires the CYLP Committee, in making youth scholarship awards, to take into consideration that awarded youth represent the racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, physical, and educational diversity of California. Specifies that priority for awarding scholarships shall be given to at-risk or disadvantaged youth between the ages of 14 and 18, as their participation in the CYLP will provide keen insight into many of the issues that youth face in their day-to-day lives. 9)Requires the CYLP Committee to be chaired by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), or his or her designee, and shall include no more than six members. 10)Requires the SPI to appoint the following four members to the CYLP Committee: a) A representative from a statewide nonprofit youth organization; b) A representative from a community-based nonprofit organization that serves youth or deals with youth-related issues; c) A representative of a local educational agency or school district; and, d) A youth between 14 and 18 years of age who has participated in a youth leadership program involving lobbying the Legislature on issue areas affecting youth. Specifies that this person shall serve only in an advisory SB 803 Page 5 capacity. 11)Specifies that the California Health and Human Services Agency may also, but is not required to, appoint a member to the CYLP Committee. 12)Specifies that to the extent possible, members of the CYLP Committee shall have experience and be trained to work with youth between 14 and 18 years of age on the issues described in 5 b) above, and shall have special experience in civic engagement, advocacy, and at least one of the following issue areas affecting youth: crisis prevention or intervention; drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse prevention or intervention; foster care; juvenile justice; homelessness; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights and social justice; and, mental health. 13)Specifies that the duties of the CYLP Committee shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: a) Develop and provide applications for the California Youth Leadership Project scholarship and collect applications from youth who would like to apply; b) Determine ways to promote the program and make applications available; c) Establish criteria for the selection of youth, and make awards based on those criteria and the purposes of the CYLP; d) Ensure that there is no discrimination based on race, religious creed, color, national origin, age, gender, marital status, disability, sex, or sexual orientation; e) Establish the time, location, and number of annual meetings of the committee. Specifies that the committee shall meet no less than once each year; f) If necessary, enter into a mutually agreed upon interagency agreement with the CDE to carry out administrative duties related to the project; g) Submit an annual budget and report to the CDE; and, SB 803 Page 6 h) Determine when there are sufficient funds to support the project. Specifies that if the committee determines that there are insufficient funds to cover all costs, the activities of the CYLP shall cease. Specifies that state funds shall not be used to support the CYLP. 14)Specifies that the funds for the CYLP shall be allocated from the California Youth Leadership Fund or from private funds directed to the CDE and allocated to the CYLP Committee for the purpose of funding activities of the CYLP. 15)Authorizes the CYLP to accept gifts and grants from any source, public or private. 16)Specifies that the CYLP Committee shall have the authority to define its program and utilize its funds in any way necessary to carry out the duties of this bill, including, but not limited to, partnering with nonprofit groups or state agencies to perform various duties, as long as the program or activity is not in violation of a state law or regulation. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 1)Based on past tax check-offs, annual revenues are expected to be in the $300,000-$800,000 range, although some check-offs have received less revenues. 2)The FTB estimates this bill will cost the state about $20,000 per year in lost revenues as taxpayers deduct these charitable donations. This estimate assumes the check-off is added in the 2012-13 fiscal year, donations meet the average amount for the other tax check-offs and taxpayers deduct these charitable donations at the historical rate. Revenue losses would be similar in subsequent years. 3)The CDE estimates that it will cost approximately $100,000 to administer the program established by this bill. The costs for FTB and the State Controller are minor and absorbable. COMMENTS : According to the author, "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. Furthermore, young SB 803 Page 7 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. To meet this need, there are several programs that provide youth leadership opportunities. This bill will make funds available directly to the youth who participate in such programs." This bill establishes the CYLP, funded by donations made by California taxpayers through a new check-off program on the PIT form. The findings and declarations in the bill focus on the need and benefits of giving disadvantaged kids (kids who are homeless, have disabilities, or are in foster care, juvenile justice facilities or on parole) the opportunity to learn about policymaking and be provided the opportunities to develop and provide policy recommendations in a host of issue areas to the Legislature. The bill attempts to achieve this goal through the provision of scholarship awards. The bill requires the CYLP to award youth scholarships to civic engagement programs that will provide participants (scholarship recipients) the tools to examine and discuss policy and fiscal issues, formally advise and make recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on a host of issues affecting youth, provide youth the opportunity to consult with existing local youth advisory commissions and community-based, grassroots, youth-led organizations, provide participants the opportunity to convene and conduct meetings, provide youth with the opportunity to act as an information center on California youth policy and fiscal issues, and when available, enable participants to travel to the State Capitol to learn the legislative process and testify at legislative hearings. The bill establishes the California Youth Leadership Fund and creates a new PIT check-off program whereby taxpayers can make donations for the CYLP for a five year period, when an existing VCF sunsets or when there is room on the form. There are currently 18 VCFs on the PIT form. This bill is similar to AB 233 (Hall), pending in the Assembly, which establishes the California YMCA Youth and Government Fund on the PIT form and allocates $300,000 to the California YMCA Youth and Government Board of Directors to award nonprofit civic SB 803 Page 8 youth organizations a grant of up to $10,000 each in order to operate civic education and mock legislative programs. Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0004799