Amended in Assembly May 20, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 6, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 88

Introduced by Assembly Member Gomez

(Principal coauthor: Senator Hall)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo, Bonta, Brown, Chau, Chiu, Dababneh, Dodd, Gipson, Gray, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, McCarty, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Rendon, Salas, Waldron, and Wilk)

(Coauthors: Senators Cannella, Mendoza, and Vidak)

January 7, 2015

An act to add begin insert and repeal end insert Section 6371.5 begin delete to end delete begin insert of end insert the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 88, as amended, Gomez. Sales and use taxes: exemption: energy or water efficient home appliances.

(1) Existing sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from their sales of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, and specify certain exemptions from the amount of tax imposed.

This begin delete bill end delete begin insert bill, until January 1, 2021, end insert would exempt from these taxes the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, an energy or water efficient home appliance purchased by a public utility that is provided at no cost to a low-income participant in a federal, state, or ratepayer-funded energy efficiency program for use by that low-income participant in the energy efficiency program. begin insert This bill would define terms for its purposes. end insert

(2) The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing law authorizes districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes begin insert generally end insert in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to state sales and use taxes are incorporated into these laws.

Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code provides that the state will reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions.

This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill.

begin delete

(3) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

end delete begin insert

(3) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy, but its operative date would depend on its effective date.

end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 6371.5 is added to the Revenue and
Taxation Code, to read:

6371.5.  

(a) (1) There are exempted from the taxes imposed
by this part the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage and
use of, or other consumption in this state begin delete of end delete begin insert of, end insert an energy or water
efficient home appliance purchased by a public utility that is
provided at no cost to a low-income participant in a federal, state,
or ratepayer-funded energy efficiency program for use by that
low-income participant in the energy efficiency program.

(2) Any amounts that would have been paid as sales tax
reimbursement or use tax by the public utility but for the exemption
provided by paragraph (1) shall be used by the public utility to
purchase additional energy or water efficient home appliances to
be provided at no cost to low-income participants in the energy
efficiency program.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Energy or water efficient home appliance” means a
begin delete refrigerator, dishwasher, washer, dryer, or other appliance end delete
begin insert refrigerator or clothes washer end insert that meets performance requirements
under the ENERGY STAR program, established pursuant to
Section 6294a of Title 42 of the United States begin delete Code. end delete begin insert Code. end insert

(2) “Low-income participant” means begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert person who begin delete is, or
who is residing in a home with a person who is, a recipient of
Medi-Cal, CalFresh, CalWORKs, Supplemental Security Income,
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, State
Utility Assistance Supplement, or some other state or federal means
tested program or is able to certify that their gross income, not
including any amount of food assistance, is less than 200 percent
of the federal poverty guidelines. end delete begin insert is a participant in the California
Alternate Rates for Energy program, also known as the CARE
program, as established by Section 739.1 of the Public Utilities
Code. end insert

(3) “Public utility” means an entity defined in Section 216 or
224.3 of the Public Utilities Code.

begin insert

(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021,
and as of that date is repealed.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

Notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code, no appropriation is made by this act and the state
shall not reimburse any local agency for any sales and use tax
revenues lost by it under this act.

begin delete

SEC. 3.  

This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of
Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert begin insert

This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of
Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.
However, the provisions of this act shall become operative on the
first day of the first calendar quarter commencing more than 90
days after the effective date of this act.

end insert