BILL ANALYSIS
AB 190
Page 1
Date of Hearing: February 28, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON REVENUE AND TAXATION
Johan Klehs, Chair
AB 190 (Negrete McCloud) - As Introduced: January 26, 2005
Majority vote. Fiscal Committee
SUBJECT : Personal Income Tax: California Sexual Violence
Victim Services Fund Checkoff
SUMMARY : Authorizes the addition of the California Sexual
Violence Victim Services Fund income tax checkoff to the
personal income tax form upon the removal of another income tax
checkoff from the form. Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows the California Sexual Violence Victim Services Fund
checkoff to remain on the tax form for up to five years,
provided it receives a minimum amount of contributions
beginning in its second year on the form. The minimum
contribution amount equals $250,000 in the second year in
which the checkoff appears on the form. This $250,000 minimum
required contribution is indexed for inflation in subsequent
years.
2)Reimburses the State Controller and Franchise Tax Board (FTB)
for their costs to administer the checkoff and directs
remaining checkoff contributions to the Office of Emergency
Services for allocation to the California Coalition Against
Sexual Assault (CALCASA). Specifies that CALCASA is to use
the checkoff money to issue grants to support CALCASA rape
crisis center programs for victims of rape and sexual assault.
EXISTING LAW allows taxpayers to contribute money to one or more
of 13 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 : FTB estimates that this bill will result in
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annual revenue losses in the range of $15,000 in the second
fiscal year (FY) following the checkoff's appearance on the
form. For example, if the checkoff first appears on the 2005
tax return due in April 2006, this bill would result in General
Fund losses in the range of $15,000 beginning in FY 2006-07.
COMMENTS :
1)This bill is sponsored by the CALCASA and is intended to
augment the amount of money available for both CALCASA and its
84 member rape crisis centers. Together, CALCASA and
California's 84 independent rape crisis centers perform crisis
intervention, counseling, advocacy, and support for rape
victims, and offer community education and prevention programs
believed essential for the elimination of sexual assault.
Funding for CALCASA and California's rape crisis centers has
historically come from a combination of state and federal
grants administered by the Office of Criminal Justice Planning
(OCJP) and from private support. In FY 2002-03, the most
recent year for which funding data are available, CALCASA and
California's rape crisis centers received approximately $18.5
million in state and federal grant funding and in private
donations.
Recently, as a result of the elimination of OCJP in 2003 and the
transfer of its grant administration responsibilities to
several other state agencies, CALCASA and California's rape
crisis centers have experienced significant delays in contract
approval and funding reimbursements. These funding delays
have caused a significant hardship among California's rape
crisis centers and resulted in significant gaps in service
provision. This bill would provide an alternate source of
funding and, in doing so, would help CALCASA and California's
rape crisis centers weather future funding uncertainties more
easily.
2)Annually since 2000, this committee has adopted an income tax
checkoff policy to address concerns that California's personal
income tax form would grow to three pages simply to
accommodate a proliferation of income tax checkoffs.
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
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(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. Assemblymember Negrete-MacLeod believes that
this checkoff will receive at least $250,000 in funding,
because of widespread statewide support for victims of rape
and sexual assault, and because California's rape crisis
centers have an existing fundraising infrastructure in place
that can spread the word about the existence of the checkoff
program.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
CALCASA (sponsor)
California State University, Sacramento, Women's Resource Center
Catharsis Productions
Community Violence Solutions
Family Services of Tulare County
FOR OUR FUTURE, A California Tribal Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault
Prevention Coalition
Haven Women's Center of Stanislaus
Human Response Network
Lassen Family Services, Inc.
Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women (2 letters from
different individuals)
Madera County Victim Services
Monterey Rape Crisis Center
North Coast Rape Crisis Team
North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection Center
Organization of Farmworkers Women Leaders in California
Police Officers Research Association of California
Project SISTER Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Services
Rape Counseling Services of Fresno, Inc.
Rape Crisis Butte, Glenn and Tehama Counties (21 letters from
different individuals)
Rape Crisis Center of San Jose (16 letters from different
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individuals)
Rape Crisis Centers throughout California (8 letters from
different individuals)
San Francisco Women Against Rape
Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center (7 letters from different
individuals)
Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Center in Woodland
Sexual Assault Recovery & Prevention Center of San Luis Obispo
County
Sexual Assault Response Service of Antelope Valley Hospital
Sexual Assault Response Team Coalition
South Lake Tahoe Women's Center
SURE Helpline Center
Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital
Sutter Lakeside Community Services
Tahoe Women's Services (2 letters from different individuals)
Tri-Valley Haven
University of California, Irvine
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Valley Trauma Center
Volunteer Center of Napa Valley/Sexual Assault Victim Services
Program
Women's Center of San Joaquin County
YWCA of Greater Los Angeles Sexual Assault Crisis Services
YWCA of Silicon Valley (25 letters from different individuals)
33 letters from private individuals
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Eileen Roush / REV. & TAX. / (916)
319-2098