BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Kevin de León, Chair AB 247 (Wagner) - Personal Income Taxes: Voluntary Contributions: California Fund for Senior Citizens Amended: April 17, 2013 Policy Vote: G&F 7-0 Urgency: No Mandate: No Hearing Date: August 12, 2013 Consultant: Robert Ingenito This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: AB 247 would extend the sunset date for the California Fund for Senior Citizens voluntary contribution from January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2020. Fiscal Impact: The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) estimates that this bill would result in an annual revenue loss of $10,000 (General Fund) beginning in 2016-17. Both FTB and the State Controller's Office would be reimbursed for related administrative costs. Background: Current law allows taxpayers to contribute money to one or more of 18 voluntary contribution funds during the process of filing their state income tax return (tax check-off). These contributions are made from taxpayers' own resources, not from their tax liability (as is possible on federal tax returns). Check-off amounts are deductible as charitable contributions on taxpayers' returns during the subsequent tax year. With several exceptions, each existing voluntary contribution fund has a sunset date and is required to meet a minimum contribution amount of $250,000, adjusted annually for inflation. The California Fund for Senior Citizens was created in 1983 and supports the ongoing work of the California Senior Legislature, itself created in 1981 to identify, develop and support legislative proposals that protect and enhance the quality of life for California's seniors. This fund's minimum annual contribution amount is not adjusted annually for inflation and is instead fixed at $250,000. Proposed Law: This bill would extend the California Fund for AB 247 (Wagner) Page 1 Senior Citizens check-off on the personal income tax form by an additional five years, to January 1, 2020. The bill would maintain all the existing reporting requirements. Related Legislation: SB 91 (Correa, Chapter 29, Statutes of 2009) extended the repeal date of the Fund's voluntary contribution check-off from January 1, 2010, to January 1, 2015. Staff Comments: FTB data indicate that roughly 90,000 taxpayers (less than one percent of the statewide total) made contributions to the various tax check-off programs in 2012.