BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1399
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Date of Hearing: January 11, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON REVENUE AND TAXATION
Philip Ting, Chair
AB 1399
(Baker) - As Amended January 4, 2016
SUSPENSE
Majority vote. Fiscal committee.
SUBJECT: Income taxes: voluntary contributions: California
Domestic Violence Fund
SUMMARY: Authorizes the addition of the California Domestic
Violence Fund (Fund) checkoff to the personal income tax (PIT)
return upon the removal of another voluntary contribution fund
(VCF) from the return, or as soon as space is available.
Specifically, this bill:
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1)Establishes the Fund in the State Treasury.
2)Provides that all money transferred to the Fund, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, shall be allocated to the:
a) Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and the State Controller for
reimbursement of all costs incurred in administering the
VCF; and,
b) Office of Emergency Services (OES) for the distribution
of grants to domestic violence programs in California that
are in active status, as reflected on the Business Search
of the Secretary of State's Internet Web site, and that are
exempt from federal income taxation as an organization
described in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section
501(c)(3).
3)Provide that the OES shall award grants and be responsible for
overseeing the grant program.
4)Provides that a domestic violence program and the OES shall
not use grant moneys awarded or funds for administrative
purposes and costs.
5)Provides for the Fund provisions' automatic sunset on January
1 of the fifth taxable year following the Fund's first
appearance on the PIT return.
6)Requires the Fund to meet a minimum contribution threshold of
$250,000 indexed for inflation.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Allows taxpayers to contribute to one or more of 18 VCFs.
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2)Provides a specific sunset date for each VCF, except for the
California Seniors Special Fund and the State Parks Protection
Fund.
3)Requires each VCF to meet an annual minimum contribution
amount to remain in effect, except for the California
Firefighters' Memorial Fund, the California Peace Officer
Memorial Foundation Fund, and the California Seniors Special
Fund.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)The author has provided the following statement in support of
this bill:
AB 1399 will increase available resources to victims of
domestic violence by providing additional resources through
a donations option on California tax returns to the
California Domestic Violence Fund. Specifically, this bill
will allow an individual to designate on the tax return
that a contribution in excess of the tax liability be made
to the California Domestic Violence Fund.
The cause for unmet critical needs are reduced government
funding (37%,) cuts from private funding (25%,) lack of
staff (23%,) and a reduction in individual donations (13%.)
By providing additional opportunities for donations to
domestic violence programs, we can better provide a safe
haven for families.
2)Arguments in Support . According to Safe Alternatives to
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Violent Environments, "Domestic violence programs rely on a
wide range of funding sources to support their programs,
including government grants, foundations, corporate donations,
and individual donations. Allowing individuals to easily
donate to the California Domestic Violence Fund through their
individual tax filing will encourage Californians to support
these essential programs and fund lifesaving services."
3)So many causes, so little space . There are countless worthy
causes that would benefit from the inclusion of a VCF on the
state's income tax returns. At the same time, space on the
returns is limited. Thus, it could be argued that the current
system for adding VCFs to the form is subjective and
essentially rewards organizations that can convince the
Legislature to include their fund on the form.
4)VCF policy . This Committee's VCF policy provides that "[a]ll
proponents seeking authorization for a new or reauthorized
checkoff shall provide information justifying their
expectation that the checkoff will meet its minimum
contribution requirement." The author's office has been clear
about the need to fund domestic violence shelters but has
provided no explanation as to why this fund will generate the
required $250,000 minimum contribution requirement.
5)Administering the Fund . OES maintains a very large grant
program, including a victims services program that provides
grants for domestic violence. This bill, however, provides
that OES shall distribute grants to domestic violence programs
that are in active status as reflected on the Secretary of
State's Internet Web site. It is unclear if the domestic
violence programs maintained on the Secretary of State's Web
site would be different than those currently maintained by
OES. In order to provide greater guidance and in order to
reduce administrative costs, the Committee may wish to amend
this bill so that the grants are distributed to domestic
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violence programs that are part of one of OESs grant programs.
6)Funding the Administration of the Fund . This bill allows the
FTB and the State Controller's office to be reimbursed for
costs incurred in administering the VCF but does not do the
same for OES. Therefore, any additional staff, if needed,
will have to come out of the OES' existing budget. It is
believed that cost will be absorbable bit OES has not
confirmed this as yet.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Alliance for Community Transformations
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
Center for Community Solutions
Center for Domestic Peace
Contra Costa County, Office of District Attorney
Contra Costa County, Board of Supervisors
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Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by:Carlos Anguiano / REV. & TAX. / (916)
319-2098