BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1799
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 12, 2004
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON REVENUE AND TAXATION
Rudy Bermudez, Chair
AB 1799 (Mullin) - As Amended: April 12, 2004
Majority vote. Fiscal Committee.
SUBJECT : Personal Income Tax: California Alzheimer's Disease
and Related Disorders Research Fund Checkoff
SUMMARY : Extends the sunset date on the California Alzheimer's
Disease and Related Disorders Research Fund income tax checkoff
from January 1, 2005 to January 1, 2010, provided the fund
receives at least a specified, minimum level of contributions
annually. Specifically, this bill :
1)Retains the requirement that the fund receive at least a
minimum amount in annual checkoff contributions in order to
appear on the income tax form in the subsequent year. This
minimum amount equaled $250,000 in 2000 and has been annually
indexed for inflation since that time.
2)Makes minor modifications to current law findings and
declarations supporting the importance of raising money to
research the cause, prevention, diagnosis, cure, and treatment
of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.
EXISTING LAW allows taxpayers to contribute money to one or more
of 11 voluntary contribution funds by checking a box on their
state income tax return. California law requires contributions
made through checkoffs to be made from taxpayers' own resources
(not from their tax liability, as is possible on federal tax
returns). Checkoff amounts may be claimed as charitable
contributions on taxpayers' tax returns during the subsequent
year.
FISCAL EFFECT : The Franchise Tax Board estimates that extending
the sunset date of this checkoff will result in annual revenue
losses of approximately $32,000 per year beginning in fiscal
year 2005-06.
COMMENTS :
AB 1799
Page 2
1) This bill is sponsored by the author and is intended to
allow the California Alzheimer's Disease and Related
Disorders Research Fund to remain on the income tax form
beyond the 2004 tax year. This income tax checkoff fund
provides money for research grants related to the care,
treatment, and the cure of Alzheimer's disease. Money
contributed using the checkoff is distributed by the
Secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency, in consultation
with the Department of Aging.
2) Background . The California Alzheimer's Disease and Related
Disorders Research Fund checkoff first appeared on the income
tax form in 1987. Since that time, its sunset date has been
extended twice. The Alzheimer's checkoff is typically one of
the more popular checkoffs on California's tax form. In
2002-03, the last fiscal year for which contribution
information is available, the Alzheimer's checkoff received
approximately $544,000 in contributions, fourth highest among
the eleven checkoffs on the return.
3) Annually since 2000, the Assembly Revenue and Taxation
Committee has adopted an income tax checkoff policy to
address concerns that a proliferation of checkoffs would
cause California's tax forms to grow to three pages.
Components of the checkoff policy include requirements that
all checkoff bills include sunset dates, $250,000 minimum
contribution requirements that are indexed for inflation,
language intended to ensure that any new checkoff is not
added to the tax form until an existing checkoff is removed
(so-called queuing language), and a requirement that
proponents of each new checkoff provide evidence justifying
why they believe their checkoff will meet the minimum
contribution requirements. The policy also explicitly states
that existing checkoffs which fail to receive their minimum
level of contributions will not have their sunset dates
extended.
This bill is consistent with this committee's income tax
checkoff policy.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Alzheimer's Association
AB 1799
Page 3
California Assisted Living Association
California Seniors Coalition
California Senior Legislature
Gray Panthers California
1 Private Citizen
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Eileen Roush / REV. & TAX. / (916)
319-2098