BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de León, Chair


          AB 394 (Yamada) - Personal Income Taxes: Voluntary  
          Contributions: Alzheimer's Disease
          
          Amended: April 18, 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 394 would extend the sunset date for the  
          California Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Research  
          Fund 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 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 Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders  
          Research Fund was created in 1987 and to date has funded (in  
          whole or in part) 122 studies related to the cause, diagnosis,  
          treatment, prevention and care of people living with Alzheimer's  
          and related disorders. The tax check-off's funds are distributed  
          by the Department of Public Health to California researchers  
          through a competitive grant process, and work to leverage  
          funding from other entities. Since its creation, the check-off  
          has raised about $11 million, and has collected about $500,000  
          annually over the last four years, exceeding the minimum  








          AB 394 (Yamada)
          Page 1


          required to remain on the form.

          Proposed Law: This bill would extend the California Alzheimer's  
          Disease and Related Disorders Research Fund 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.