BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1399|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1399
Author: Baker (R), et al.
Amended: 6/9/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/8/16
AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Moorlach,
Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 6/27/16
AYES: Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lara
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 1/27/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Income taxes: voluntary contributions: California
Domestic Violence Victims Fund
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill authorizes the addition of the California
Domestic Violence Victims Fund check-off to the personal income
tax return.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Allows taxpayers to contribute money to voluntary contribution
funds (VCFs) by checking a box on their state income tax
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returns. California law requires contributions made through
so-called "check-offs" to be made from taxpayers' own
resources and not from their tax liability, as is possible on
federal tax returns.
2)Allows contribution amounts to be claimed as charitable
contributions on taxpayers' tax returns in the subsequent
year.
3)Requires that each VCF is individually added to the tax return
by legislation. With a few exceptions, VCFs remain on the
return until they are repealed by a sunset date or fail to
generate a minimum contribution amount. In general, the
minimum contribution amounts are adjusted annually for
inflation. For most VCFs, the minimum contribution amount is
$250,000, beginning in the fund's second year. The following
check-offs do not have a minimum contribution requirement:
a) California Firefighters' Memorial Foundation Fund,
b) California Peace Officer Memorial Foundation Fund, and
c) California Seniors Special Fund.
This bill:
1)Adds the California Domestic Violence Victims Fund (Fund), and
allows a taxpayer to make a voluntary contribution to the Fund
on the state personal income tax return, beginning once an
existing check-off for charitable fund contribution has been
removed, or as soon as space is available.
2)Requires the Fund to meet a minimum contribution threshold of
$250,000 in the second calendar year the Fund appears on the
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tax form, and the amount is indexed yearly for inflation.
3)Provides that all money transferred to the Fund, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated as follows:
a) To the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and the State
Controller for reimbursement of all costs incurred in
administering the VCF.
b) To the Office of Emergency Services (OES) for
distribution to domestic violence programs in California
that are in active status, exempt from federal income
taxation as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3)
of the Internal Revenue Code, and are active grant
recipients under the Comprehensive Statewide Domestic
Violence Program within OES.
4)Prohibits funds to be used for administrative costs by both
the grant recipients and OES.
5)Provides that the bill automatically sunsets on January 1 of
the fifth taxable year following the Fund's first appearance
on the personal income tax form.
Background
When a taxpayer contributes to VCFs, the FTB deposits the total
of all contributions, less an administrative fee, into the fund
created as part of the VCF's legislative authorization. For
some VCFs, such as the Protect Our Coast and Ocean Fund,
taxpayers' contributions are allocated to a state agency for use
in a state administered grant program. Other VCFs' authorizing
statutes direct administrative agencies to allocate donations to
a private organization. For example, OES passes VCF funds to
the American Red Cross. Other funds require the Controller to
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send the funds directly to private organizations without passing
through an administrative agency, such as the California Fire
Foundation. The Controller and administrative agencies may
deduct administrations fees from the amount of donations each
VCF receives.
There are currently 19 check-offs listed on the tax return form.
The tax check-off program typically collects $4-5 million in
annual contributions for all VCFs.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
FTB estimates that, beginning in 2017- 18, this bill would
result in an annual revenue loss of $8,000 (General Fund) for
every $250,000 contributed by itemizing taxpayers.
OES would incur minor and absorbable costs to administer the
program and provide grants.
The Controller's Office and FTB and would be reimbursed for
related administrative costs.
SUPPORT: (Verified6/28/16)
Alliance for Community Transformations
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
Center for Community Solutions; Center for Domestic Peace
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Contra Costa District Attorney's Office
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Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments
State Board of Equalization Member Fiona Ma
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/28/16)
California Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "On just one
day in 2014, 5,784 victims and their children received services
at domestic violence programs throughout the state. On that
same day 1, 2016 request for services went unmet, of which 55%
were for housing, largely due to lack of resources. That means
1,216, individuals, children, and families, could not secure a
safe place to stay, or receive vital counseling or resources.
Emergency shelter, transitional housing, and nonresidential
services could not be provided because of a lack of resources.
Of those unmet needs, approximately 49% of programs report that
victims return to their abuser, 37% report that victims become
homeless, and 16% report that families end up living in their
car. The cause for these unmet 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 in own communities, we can better provide a
safe haven for families."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: Opponent argues that the bill is of
limited value and results in a loss to the General Fund.
Additionally, it is unclear why special preference should be
given to one organization over the countless others that are not
on the tax form.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 1/27/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
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Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez,
Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mathis
Prepared by:Myriam Bouaziz / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
6/29/16 15:56:04
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