BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1049
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON REVENUE AND TAXATION
Charles M. Calderon, Chair
AB 1049 (Torrico) - As Amended: April 2, 2009
Majority vote. Fiscal committee.
SUBJECT : Personal income taxes: voluntary contributions:
Safely Surrendered Baby Fund
SUMMARY : Authorizes the addition of the Safely Surrendered Baby
Fund (Fund) checkoff to the personal income tax (PIT) form upon
the removal of another voluntary contribution fund (VCF) from
the form. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that, on and after an unspecified date, the State
Department of Social Services (DSS) shall submit an annual
report to the Legislature regarding the impact of the Safely
Surrendered Baby Law. This report shall include:
a) The number of infants both safely surrendered and
abandoned and the health condition of the infants; and,
b) A compilation of information disclosed on the voluntary
questionnaire provided to those individuals who safely
surrender an infant.
2)Establishes the Fund in the State Treasury.
3)Provides that all moneys transferred to the Fund, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, shall be allocated as
follows:
a) To the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and the State
Controller for reimbursement of costs incurred in
administering the checkoff; and,
b) To DSS for the following:
i) The distribution of grants for programs to increase
public awareness and outreach regarding the Safely
Surrendered Baby Law, including public service
announcements in English and Spanish, safe surrender
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hotlines, a DSS Internet Website with a comprehensive
list of safe-surrender sites, education, and training for
communities and schools;
ii) Administrative costs incurred by the Office of Child
Abuse Prevention in the enforcement of the Safely
Surrendered Baby Law, including any costs incurred in
clarifying the circumstances under which safe-surrender
sites and counties must protect the identifying
information of the individual who surrenders an infant;
and,
iii) Administrative costs DSS incurs in providing the
annual legislative report required by this bill.
4)Provides for the Fund provisions' automatic repeal on either
January 1 of the fifth taxable year following the taxable year
the VCF first appears on the PIT return or on January 1 of an
earlier year, if FTB estimates that the annual contribution
amount will be less than $250,000, or an adjusted amount for
subsequent years.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows taxpayers to designate on their PIT returns a
contribution to any of 15 VCFs.
2)Provides a specific sunset date for each VCF, except the
California Seniors Special Fund.
3)Provides that each VCF must meet a minimum annual contribution
amount to remain in effect, except for the California Seniors
Special Fund, the California Firefighters' Memorial Fund, and
the California Peace Officer Memorial Foundation Fund.
4)Allows parents or other persons with lawful custody to
surrender an infant 72 hours old or younger to safe-surrender
sites without facing prosecution for child abandonment.
FISCAL EFFECT : Assuming the Fund is added to the 2009 return,
FTB estimates revenue losses, resulting from contribution
deductions, to be $15,000 in both fiscal year (FY) 2010-11 and
FY 2011-12.
Proposition 98 Fiscal Effect : Minimal
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COMMENTS :
1)The author states, "This bill is needed to provide an ongoing
Fund for the protection of the innocent lives of babies.
According to the State Auditor's report released in 2008, it
indicates that over 400 babies have been found to be abandoned
illegally in California. The purpose of this bill is to fund
outreach, to expand awareness on the Safely Surrendered Baby
Law, and to ensure the law is effectively enforced."
2)Committee Staff Comments :
a) The Safely Surrendered Baby Law : In April of 2008, the
California State Auditor issued a report on the Safely
Surrendered Baby Law. The report highlighted the following
issues:
i) Since 2006, state agencies have had virtually no
legal obligations under the safe-surrender law - DSS's
only involvement is compiling information that counties
must submit when their designated sites accept
surrendered babies;
ii) No state agency currently publicizes the
safe-surrender law nor has consistent funding been
provided for raising the public's awareness of the law.
DSS conducted a media campaign from October 2002 to
December 2003, but has not developed any further goals
for conducting additional activities;
iii) Safe-surrender sites are violating state law by
disclosing confidential information on parents who
surrendered babies. Of the 218 babies surrendered since
2001, county files contained confidential information in
24 cases, including 16 of the 176 cases occurring after
the Legislature amended the law to protect personal
identifying information;
iv) Counties have incorrectly classified babies as
safely surrendered or abandoned. Children improperly
classified as safely surrendered may not be allowed
access to information on their parents even though they
may have the legal right to the information; and,
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v) The vast majority of surrendered babies may not have
access to critical medical information later in life
because safe-surrender sites have difficulties in
obtaining vital medical history information.
b) Does this bill spread Fund moneys too thin? :
i) As noted above, this bill calls for Fund moneys to
be distributed to DSS for public outreach grants, and for
administrative costs incurred both in enforcing the
Safely Surrendered Baby Law and in providing the annual
legislative report this bill requires.
ii) Successful VCFs typically receive a couple hundred
thousand dollars each year. It is not clear that DSS
will receive sufficient Fund moneys to cover all costs
outlined by this bill. If insufficient funds are
available, does the author want DSS to use its best
judgment in deciding where it should use funds? If so,
what if DSS decides to use fund moneys to cover their
administrative costs first?
c) Related Legislation : There are at least two other bills
in the current legislative session that would add new VCFs
to the PIT return:
i) AB 1088 (Fletcher) would create an unnamed VCF to
provide an additional funding source for veterans' homes.
AB 1088 is currently in the Committee on Veterans
Affairs but has not been set for hearing as
Assemblymember Fletcher is making it a two-year bill.
ii) SB 516 (DeSaulnier) would create the California Fund
for Youth to support a newly created California Youth
Legislature. This bill is set to be heard in the Senate
Revenue and Taxation Committee on April 22, 2009.
d) FTB's proposed amendments : The FTB has suggested the
following two technical amendments:
i) On page 3, line 2, strike out "initial" and insert
"original"; and,
ii) On page 3, line 6, before "liability" insert "tax".
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : M. David Ruff / REV. & TAX. / (916)
319-2098