BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 247|
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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 247
          Author:   Wagner (R)
          Amended:  4/17/13 in Assembly
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 6/26/13
          AYES: Wolk, Knight, Beall, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Hernandez, Liu

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 8/12/13
          AYES:  De León, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Steinberg
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Walters, Padilla

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 5/13/13 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Personal income taxes:  voluntary contribution:   
          California Fund for
                      Senior Citizens

           SOURCE  :     Author


          DIGEST  :    This bill extends from 2015 to 2020 the California  
          Fund for Senior Citizens check-off on the personal state income  
          tax form.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law allows taxpayers to contribute to one  
          or more of 18 voluntary contribution funds, VCFs or check-offs,  
          by checking a box on their state income tax return.  California  
          law requires contributions 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  
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          charitable contributions on taxpayers' tax returns in the  
          subsequent year.

          This bill extends the California Fund for Senior Citizens check  
          off on the tax form from January 1, 2015 until January 1, 2020.   
          The bill maintains all the existing requirements for the program  
          including the annual reporting by September 1 of each year and  
          the minimum contribution requirements adjusted for inflation.  

           Background
           
          The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) designs 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 by a sunset date, or  
          if they fail to meet a minimum contribution amount.  Minimum  
          contribution amounts are adjusted annually for inflation, with  
          specific exceptions.  For most VCFs, the minimum contribution  
          amount is $250,000, beginning in the fund's second year.  

          By September 1st of each year, the FTB must determine the  
          minimum contribution amount required for each fund to remain on  
          the form for the following calendar year and estimate whether  
          contributions to each fund meet that amount.  If the FTB  
          estimates that a fund will fail to meet its minimum contribution  
          amount, that fund is repealed for the following calendar year. 

          The following check-offs do not have a minimum contribution  
          requirement:

           California Firefighters' Memorial Foundation Fund,
           California Peace Officer Memorial Foundation Fund, and
           California Seniors Special Fund.



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          |Voluntary Contribution |   2012   |    Contribution Allotment    |
          | Fund                  |Contributi|                              |
          |                       |on Totals |                              |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |ALS/Lou Gehrig's       | $137,290 |As many as apply and receive  |

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          |Disease Research Fund  |          |grants provided for by the    |
          |                       |          |monies contributed.           |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |Alzheimer's            | $466,485 |As many as contract or        |
          |Disease/Related        |          |receive grants provided by    |
          |Disorders Fund         |          |the monies contributed.       |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |Arts Council Fund      | $165,647 |As many as apply and receive  |
          |                       |          |grants provided by the monies |
          |                       |          |contributed.                  |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |CA Breast Cancer       | $440,771 |As many as apply and receive  |
          |Research Fund          |          |grants provided from the      |
          |                       |          |monies contributed.           |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |CA Cancer Research     | $432,355 |As many as apply and receive  |
          |Fund                   |          |grants provided from the      |
          |                       |          |monies contributed.           |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |CA Firefighters'       | $152,004 |1 Group: California Fire      |
          |Memorial Fund          |          |Foundation.                   |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |CA Fund for Senior     | $272,742 |1 Group: California Senior    |
          |Citizens               |          |Legislature.                  |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |CA Peace Officer       | $136,172 |1 Group: California Peace     |
          |Memorial Foundation    |          |Officer Memorial Commission.  |
          |Fund                   |          |                              |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |CA Police Activities   | $67,202  |The state CALPAL and county   |
          |League (CALPAL) Fund   |          |CALPAL chapters.              |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |CA Sea Otter Fund      | $351,037 |Department of Fish and        |
          |                       |          |Wildlife, and as many as      |
          |                       |          |apply for grants and          |

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          |                       |          |contracts provided for by 50% |
          |                       |          |of contributions.             |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |CA Seniors Special     | $61,315  |The first $80K to the Area    |
          |Fund                   |          |Agency on Aging Advisory      |
          |                       |          |Council of California and the |
          |                       |          |rest to area agencies as      |
          |                       |          |allocated by the California   |
          |                       |          |Department of Aging.          |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |CA YMCA Youth and      | Initial  |The first $300K to the CA     |
          |Government Fund        |   Tax    |YMCA Youth and Government     |
          |                       |  Return  |Program.  The rest is         |
          |                       |   2012   |allocated in $10K annual      |
          |                       |          |grants to the: African        |
          |                       |          |American Leaders for Tomorrow |
          |                       |          |Program, Asian Pacific Youth  |
          |                       |          |Leadership Project, Chicano   |
          |                       |          |Latino Youth Leadership       |
          |                       |          |Project.  The money is to be  |
          |                       |          |used to support program       |
          |                       |          |participation.  Remaining     |
          |                       |          |funds allocated to the CA     |
          |                       |          |YMCA Youth and Government     |
          |                       |          |Program, whose board may      |
          |                       |          |award additional $10K annual  |
          |                       |          |grants to additional          |
          |                       |          |nonprofit civic youth         |
          |                       |          |organizations. The funds      |
          |                       |          |distributed to the CA YMCA    |
          |                       |          |Youth and Government Program  |
          |                       |          |are to be used for            |
          |                       |          |program-related expenses.     |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |CA Youth Leadership    | Initial  |1 group: Department of        |
          |Fund                   |   Tax    |Education to provide for the  |
          |                       |  Return  |CA Youth Leadership Project.  |
          |                       |   2012   |                              |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |CA Veterans Homes Fund | $210,078 |The number of established     |

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          |                       |          |veteran's homes (7).          |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |Child Victims of Human | $35,317  |As many counseling and        |
          |Trafficking Fund       |          |prevention centers that apply |
          |                       |          |and receive grants provided   |
          |                       |          |from monies contributed.      |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |Emergency Food for     | $551,515 |1 group: Department of Social |
          |Families Fund          |          |Services for the Emergency    |
          |                       |          |Food Assistance Program.      |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |Municipal Shelter      | $244,701 |As many as apply and receive  |
          |Spay-Neuter Fund       |          |grants provided from the      |
          |                       |          |monies contributed.           |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |Rare & Endangered      | $558,681 |1 group: Department of Fish   |
          |Species Preservation   |          |and Wildlife endangered       |
          |Program                |          |conservation programs.        |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |Safely Surrendered     | $158,645 |1 group: Department of Social |
          |Baby Fund              |          |Services for Safely Surrender |
          |                       |          |Baby Law awareness programs.  |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |School Supplies for    | Initial  |As many as apply and receive  |
          |Homeless Children Fund |   Tax    |grants provided for by the    |
          |                       |  Return  |monies contributed.           |
          |                       |   2012   |                              |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |State Children's Trust | $376,243 |1 group: Department of Social |
          |for the Prevention of  |          |Services for prevention and   |
          |Child Abuse            |          |intervention programs.        |
          |                       |          |                              |
          |-----------------------+----------+------------------------------|
          |State Parks Protection | Initial  |As many as purchase a parks   |
          |Fund/Parks Pass        |   Tax    |pass that can be provided     |
          |Purchase               |  Return  |from the monies contributed.  |
          |                       |   2012   |                              |

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           Comments
           
          This bill extends, for five years, the sunset deadline for the  
          tax check off in support of the California Fund for Senior  
          Citizens.  Established in 1983, this tax check-off serves as the  
          primary source of funds for the California Senior Legislature,  
          which develops legislative proposals addressing access to  
          affordable health care, elder abuse prevention, insurance  
          consumer protection, community-based long-term care services and  
          support.  Over the past five years, the fund has collected over  
          $1.46 million in donations.  This bill temporarily extends the  
          fund's lifespan on the tax check off form.  

           Related legislation

           AB 394 (Yamada) extends the repeal date of the "California  
          Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Research Fund" tax  
          check-off on the tax form from 2015 to 2020.
          
          AB 511 (Pan) creates the "American Red Cross, California  
          Chapters Fund" check-off on the tax form.  

          AB 754 (Muratsuchi) creates the "Protect Our Coast and Oceans  
          Fund" check-off on the tax form. 
          
          AB 1286 (Skinner) temporarily suspends the annual inflation  
          adjustment for minimum contribution levels for the "California  
          Breast Cancer Research Fund" check-off on the tax form. 
          
          SB 116 (Liu) extends the repeal date for the "Emergency Food  
          Assistance Program" check off on the tax form from 2014 to 2019.  
           

          SB 571 (Price) creates the "Art for Kids Fund" check-off on the  
          tax form.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, FTB estimates  

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          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.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/14/13)

          Alzheimer's Association
          Area 4 Agency on Aging
          California Assisted Living Association
          California Association for Health Services at Home
          California Association of Public Authorities
          California Commission on Aging
          California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association
          California Senior Leaders Alliance
          California Senior Legislature
          California State Retirees
          Contra Costa County Advisory Council on Aging
          County Welfare Directors Association of California
          Older Women's League of California

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  8/14/13)

          Department of Finance

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :    Supporters argue that the California  
          Fund for Senior Citizens is the primary funding source for the  
          California Senior Legislature (CSL) and its extension will allow  
          them to continue to advocate on behalf of California's seniors  
          and assures that the important work of the CSL continues.


           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    The Department of Finance opposes  
          this bill for the following reasons, "This bill is of limited  
          value as there is nothing currently preventing California  
          taxpayers from contributing directly to this cause if they so  
          choose.  It is not clear that a special preference should be  
          given to the organizations receiving the grant supported by this  
          tax check-off, as compared to other organizations also dedicated  
          to advocating legislation which would affect California's senior  
          citizens.  This bill could result in a $10,000 annual General  
          Fund revenue loss beginning in 2016-17."  
           
           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 5/13/13

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          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Blumenfield,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,  
            Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,  
            Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,  
            Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones,  
            Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor,  
            Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,  
            Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel  
            Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,  
            Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,  
            Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Allen, Ammiano, Holden, Lowenthal, Vacancy


          AB:nl  8/14/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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