Amended in Assembly April 13, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 15, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2497

Introduced by Assembly Member Wagner

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(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Ridley-Thomas)

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February 19, 2016

An act to amend Section 18729 of, and to add and repeal Article 3.6 (commencing with Section 18730) of Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of, the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2497, as amended, Wagner. Voluntary contributions: California Senior Legislature Fund: California Senior Citizen Advocacy Fund.

Under existing law, taxpayers are allowed to contribute amounts in excess of their personal income tax liability for the support of the California Senior Legislature Fund until the year in which the minimum contribution is not received, or January 1, 2019, whichever occurs first. Existing law also contains administrative provisions that are generally applicable to voluntary contributions.

This bill would repeal these provisions regarding contributions for the support of the California Senior Legislature Fund and would instead allow a taxpayer, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, to designate an amount in excess of personal income tax liability to be deposited to the California Senior Citizen Advocacy Fund, which the bill would create. This bill would require moneys transferred to the California Senior Citizen Advocacy Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be allocated to the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller, as provided, and to the California Senior Legislature for the purpose of funding the activities of the California Senior Legislature, as provided.

This bill would repeal these voluntary contribution provisions by a specified date or, if contributions made on returns would be less than a specified amount, by an earlier date as provided.

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 18729 of the Revenue and Taxation Code
is amended to read:

18729.  

(a) This article shall remain in effect only for taxable
years beginning before January 1, 2016, and as of January 1, 2017,
is repealed.

(b) Notwithstanding the repeal of this article, any contribution
amounts designated pursuant to this article prior to its repeal shall
continue to be transferred and disbursed in accordance with this
article as in effect immediately prior to that repeal.

SEC. 2.  

Article 3.6 (commencing with Section 18730) is added
to Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code, to read:

 

Article 3.6.  California Senior Citizen Advocacy Fund

 

18730.  

(a) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1,
2016, any individual may designate on the tax return that a
contribution in excess of the tax liability, if any, be made to the
California Senior Citizen Advocacy Fund established by Section
18731 to be used to conduct the sessions of the California Senior
Legislature and to support its ongoing activities on behalf of older
persons.

(b) The contribution shall be in full dollar amounts and may be
made individually by each signatory on the joint return.

(c) A designation under subdivision (a) shall be made for any
taxable year on the begin delete initial end delete begin insert original end insert return for that taxable year, and
once made shall be irrevocable. If payments and credits reported
on the return, together with any other credits associated with the
individual’s account, do not exceed the individual’s tax liability,
the return shall be treated as though no designation has been made.

(d) The Franchise Tax Board shall revise the form of the return
to include a space labeled “California Senior Citizen Advocacy
Fund” to allow for the designation permitted under subdivision
(a). The form shall also include in the instructions information that
the contribution may be in the amount of one dollar ($1) or more
and that the contribution shall be used to conduct the sessions of
the California Senior Legislature and to support its ongoing
activities on behalf of older persons.

(e) A deduction shall be allowed under Article 6 (commencing
with Section 17201) of Chapter 3 of Part 10 for any contribution
made pursuant to subdivision (a).

18731.  

(a) There is hereby established in the State Treasury
the California Senior Citizen Advocacy Fund to receive
contributions made pursuant to Section 18730. The Franchise Tax
Board shall notify the Controller of both the amount of money
paid by taxpayers in excess of their tax liability and the amount
of refund money that taxpayers have designated pursuant to Section
18730 to be transferred to the California Senior Citizen Advocacy
Fund. The Controller shall transfer from the Personal Income Tax
Fund to the California Senior Citizen Advocacy Fund an amount
not in excess of the sum of the amounts designated by individuals
pursuant to Section 18730 for payment into that fund.

(b) The California Senior Citizen Advocacy Fund is the
successor fund of the California Senior Legislature Fund. All
assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenditures of the California
Senior Legislature Fund shall be transferred to, and become a part
of, the California Senior Citizen Advocacy Fund, as provided in
Section 16346 of the Government Code. Any references in state
law to the California Senior Legislature Fund shall be construed
to refer to the California Senior Citizen Advocacy Fund.

18732.  

(a) All moneys transferred to the California Senior
Citizen Advocacy Fund pursuant to Section 18731, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, shall be allocated as follows:

(1) To the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for
reimbursement of all costs incurred by the Franchise Tax Board
and the Controller in connection with their duties under this article.

(2) The balance to the California Senior Legislature, for its
ongoing activities on behalf of older persons.

(b) All moneys allocated pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) may be carried over from the year in which they
were received and encumbered in any following year.

(c) The funds allocated to the California Senior Legislature for
the purpose of funding the activities of the California Senior
Legislature shall be spent pursuant to the purview of the Joint
Rules Committee of the California Senior Legislature in a manner
consistent with the bylaws of the California Senior Legislature,
established through a majority vote of the California Senior
Legislature.

18733.  

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b),
this article shall remain in effect only for taxable years beginning
before January 1, 2021, and as of December 1, 2021, is repealed.

(b) (1) By September 1, 2017, and by September 1 of each
subsequent calendar year that the California Senior Citizen
Advocacy Fund appears on the tax return, the Franchise Tax Board
shall do all of the following:

(A) Determine the minimum contribution amount required to
be received during the next calendar year for the fund to appear
on the tax return for the taxable year that includes that next calendar
year.

(B) Provide written notification to the California Senior
Legislature of the amount determined in subparagraph (A).

(C) Determine whether the amount of contributions estimated
to be received during the calendar year will equal or exceed the
minimum contribution amount determined by the Franchise Tax
Board for the calendar year pursuant to subparagraph (A). The
Franchise Tax Board shall estimate the amount of contributions
to be received by using the actual amounts received and an estimate
of the contributions that will be received by the end of that calendar
year.

(2) If the Franchise Tax Board determines that the amount of
the contributions estimated to be received during a calendar year
will not at least equal the minimum contribution amount for the
calendar year, this article shall be inoperative with respect to
taxable years beginning on or after January 1 of that calendar year
and shall be repealed on December 1 of that year.

(3) For purposes of this section, the minimum contribution
amount for a calendar year means two hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($250,000) for the second calendar year after the first
appearance of the California Senior begin delete Legislature end delete begin insert Citizen end insert begin insert Advocacy end insert
Fund on the personal income tax return or the minimum
contribution amount as adjusted pursuant to subdivision (c).

(c) For each calendar year, beginning with the third calendar
year after the first appearance of the California Senior Citizen
Advocacy Fund on the personal income tax return, the Franchise
Tax Board shall adjust, on or before September 1 of that calendar
year, the minimum contribution amount specified in subdivision
(b) as follows:

(1) The minimum estimated contribution amount for the calendar
year shall be an amount equal to the product of the minimum
estimated contribution amount for the calendar year multiplied by
the inflation factor adjustment as specified in subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (h) of Section 17041, rounded off to
the nearest dollar.

(2) The inflation factor adjustment used for the calendar year
shall be based on the figures for the percentage change in the
California Consumer Price Index for all items received on or before
August 1 of the calendar year pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (h) of Section 17041.

(d) Notwithstanding the repeal of this article, any contribution
amounts designated pursuant to this article prior to its repeal shall
continue to be transferred and disbursed in accordance with this
article as in effect immediately prior to that repeal.