BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1049
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1049 (Torrico)
As Amended June 1, 2009
Majority vote
REVENUE & TAXATION 9-0 HEALTH 19-0
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|Ayes:|Caballero, DeVore, Beall, |Ayes:|Jones, Fletcher, Adams, |
| |Coto, Harkey, Ma, | |Ammiano, Block, Carter, |
| |Nielsen, Portantino, | |Conway, De La Torre, |
| |Saldana | |De Leon, Emmerson, Gaines, |
| | | |Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, |
| | | |Bonnie Lowenthal, Nava, V. |
| | | |Manuel Perez, Salas, |
| | | |Audra Strickland |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+----------------------------|
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATION 17-0
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|Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen, Ammiano, | | |
| |Charles Calderon, Davis, Duvall, | | |
| |Fuentes, Hall, Harkey, Miller, | | |
| |John A. Perez, Price, Skinner, | | |
| |Solorio, | | |
| |Audra Strickland, Torlakson, | | |
| |Krekorian | | |
|-----+---------------------------------+-+----------------------|
| | | | |
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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)Establishes the Fund in the State Treasury.
2)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
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Controller for reimbursement of costs incurred in
administering the checkoff; and,
b) To the State Department of Social Services (DSS) for 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 hotlines, a DSS Internet
Website with a comprehensive list of safe-surrender sites,
education, and training for communities and schools.
3)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 less than $20,000 in each fiscal year (FY)
2010-11 and FY 2011-12.
COMMENTS : 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
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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."
Committee Staff Comments:
1)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:
a) 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;
b) 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;
c) 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;
d) 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,
e) 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.
2)Related legislation: There are at least two other bills in
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the current legislative session that would add new VCFs to the
PIT return:
a) 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.
b) SB 516 (DeSaulnier), introduced in the currently
legislative session, would create the California Fund for
Youth to support a newly created California Youth
Legislature. This bill is on Senate Third Reading.
Analysis Prepared by : M. David Ruff / REV. & TAX. / (916)
319-2098
FN: 0001163