BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 55
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Date of Hearing: May 6, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
55 (Nazarian) - As Amended March 26, 2015
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|Policy |Arts, Entertainment, Sports, |Vote:|6 - 0 |
|Committee: |Tourism, and Internet Media | | |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
The bill continuously appropriates each fiscal year, from the
General Fund to the California Arts Council (CAC), an amount
equal to the sum of the revenue generated through a specialized
license plate program for the arts in the prior fiscal year plus
AB 55
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the amount of private donations to the CAC in the prior year.
The bill declares that this requirement shall not be construed
to prevent the Legislature from appropriating additional funds
to the CAC.
FISCAL EFFECT:
The annual GF appropriation would depend on prior year license
plate program revenues and private donations. In the last three
years, license plate revenues have totaled about $2.8 million
annually, and donations have been minimal over this time period.
General Fund appropriations to the CAC were $6 million in the
current year and $1 million in the prior two years (and over the
past decade). Therefore, had this bill been in effect in 2012-13
and 2013-14, it would have resulted in an additional $1.8
million to the council from the General Fund. The bill might
have had no impact in 2014-15, as the larger General Fund
appropriation could have been adjusted downward. Conversely,
having a continuous appropriation that, in part, matches private
donations to the CAC could incentivize increase donations, thus
increasing General Fund costs.
Continuous appropriations, particularly from the General Fund,
have been contrary to the general policy of this committee.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "State matching funds will
provide a base level of support to the arts and restores
funding the California Arts Council has lost in the last
decade. Further, AB 55 recognizes the investment made by
individuals by requiring the state to match its funding level
with that of individual donations and encourages Californians
to purchase a specialized license plate and donate to the Arts
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Council."
2)Prior Legislation. In 2014, AB 1662 (Calderon), which would
have created an annual continuous GF appropriation to the
California Arts Council (CAC) in an unspecified amount, was
held on this committee's Suspense file.
In 2013, AB 580 (Nazarian), which contained a $75 million
continuous GF appropriation to the council, was also held on
Suspense in this committee.
SB 1432 (Lieu), also in 2014 and containing a $25 million
continuous GF appropriation, was held on Suspense in Senate
Appropriations.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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