BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1799
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1799 (Mullin)
As Amended April 12, 2004
Majority vote
REVENUE & TAXATION 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 20-0
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|Ayes:|Bermudez, Wyland, Chavez, |Ayes:|Chu, Runner, Bates, Berg, |
| |Chu, Harman, Laird, Leno | |Calderon, Corbett, |
| | | |Correa, Daucher, |
| | | |Firebaugh, Goldberg, |
| | | |Keene, Leno, Nation, |
| | | |Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, |
| | | |Pavley, Ridley-Thomas, |
| | | |Wesson, Wiggins, Yee |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Extends the sunset date on the California Alzheimer's
Disease and Related Disorders Research Fund (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.
AB 1799
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FISCAL EFFECT : The California 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 FY 2005-06.
COMMENTS : This bill is sponsored by the author and is intended
to allow the 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.
The 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 FY for
which contribution information is available, the Alzheimer's
checkoff received approximately $544,000 in contributions,
fourth highest among the 11 checkoffs on the return.
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 the Revenue and Taxation
Committee's income tax checkoff policy.
Analysis Prepared by : Eileen Roush / REV. & TAX. / (916)
319-2098
FN: 0004966
AB 1799
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