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)
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          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.