BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2017
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Date of Hearing: April 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON REVENUE AND TAXATION
Anthony J. Portantino, Chair
AB 2017 (Hall) - As Introduced: February 17, 2010
Majority vote. Fiscal committee.
SUBJECT : California YMCA Youth and Government Program
SUMMARY : Authorizes the addition of the California YMCA Youth
and Government 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
Controller for reimbursement of costs incurred in
administering the checkoff; and,
b) To the California YMCA Youth and Government Program
(Program) for its ongoing activities on behalf of youth.
Specifically, the moneys shall be used to fund the
California Youth and Government Model Legislature and Court
Program and shall be spent under the purview of the YMCA
Youth and Government board members in a manner consistent
with the organization's bylaws.
3)Provides for the Fund provisions' automatic repeal on either
January 1 of the fifth taxable year following the Fund's first
appearance 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.
4)Contains the following legislative findings and declarations:
a) California's youth would greatly benefit by learning how
the California legislative and judicial processes work;
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b) All young people need five key developmental resources
to become productive citizens: caring adults, safe places,
a healthy start, an effective education, and opportunities
to help others. Moreover, young people who receive more of
these developmental resources fare better than young people
who receive fewer;
c) The Legislature is alarmed that hundreds of thousands of
California youth are among the two-thirds of America's
children and youth recently identified by the America's
Promise Alliance as not receiving sufficient developmental
resources to safely put them on a path to adulthood. The
Legislature is also concerned that the high school
completion rate is less than 60% for low-income students
and students of color in California, that gang and youth
violence continue to be a concern, and that after years of
declining numbers, teen pregnancy rates are also on the
rise;
d) The Legislature is encouraged by research indicating
that providing more of the five developmental resources for
more young people can help prevent many of these problems,
and that millions of dollars in later prison, health, and
welfare costs can be avoided by providing more
developmental resources for more young people now;
e) The Legislature agrees with the America's Promise
Alliance's call for greater collaboration and integration
in working to turn failure into action and improve the
lives of young people at risk and with the actions of the
more than 20 states that have committed their state
resources for the creation of statewide entities charged
with improving the developmental well-being of their
children and youth;
f) The Program operated by the YMCA has been successfully
providing training and education on the legislative and
judicial process for over 60 years; and,
g) The Program annually trains over 2,000 high school
students in their model legislature, which is composed of
two houses, the youth senate, and the youth assembly, as
well as youth constitutional officers, a press corps,
lobbyists, and court representatives.
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5)Provides that, to be eligible to participate in the Program,
youths must be 14 to 18 years of age and currently enrolled in
a California high school or participating in a nonpublic,
home-based educational program or a general equivalency degree
program.
6)Provides that each member of the Legislature may appoint one
youth member from his/her district to participate in the
Program. In making their appointments, legislators shall take
into consideration that the members of the Program represent
the racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, physical, and
educational diversity of California. Particular emphasis
should be placed on reaching out to at-risk or disadvantaged
youth to serve as members of the Program, as their
participation will provide insight into many of the issues
that youth face in their day-to-day lives.
7)Provides that state funds, beyond those allocated from the
Fund, shall not be used to support the Program.
8)Provides that this bill does not preclude the Program from
entering into mutually agreed-upon interagency agreements for
any subsequent fiscal year (FY).
9)Provides that the moneys for the Program shall be allocated
from the Fund or private funds directed to the Legislature for
the purpose of funding activities of the Program.
10)Provides that the Program may accept gifts and grants from
any source, public or private, to help perform its functions.
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 for 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.
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FISCAL EFFECT : FTB staff estimates annual revenue losses of
roughly $15,000 beginning in FY 2011-12.
COMMENTS :
1)The author has provided the following statement in support of
this bill:
The [Program] is a statewide youth educational program
involving more than 2200 high school students in a
six-month "hands on" civic experience. Since its inception
62 years ago, the [Program] has successfully used a variety
of activities to build, encourage, and strengthen those
life assets and character traits that will help high school
youth become involved, responsible and respected citizens.
The [Program] teaches the values of democracy by creating
citizen leaders from a diverse cross-section of the State's
high school population and provides them with the
opportunity to experience state government first hand. The
[Program] helps youth learn how to solve community problems
through the democratic process and develops within the
youth an attitude of self-help and self-confidence for
their personal futures.
As part of the [Program], regional student delegations
discuss public policy issues facing the state as well as
ways to implement their solutions through the legislative
and judicial processes. Teen delegates draft legislation,
prepare issue briefs, select governmental positions to
role-play, attend statewide training and election
conferences and run for various offices and leadership
positions. The [Program] concludes with a five day Model
Legislature and Court each February at the State Capitol.
Unfortunately, in recent years, costs to operate the
[Program] and participant demand for financial assistance
have greatly increased while donations to this important
program have declined.
AB 2017 would allow state taxpayers to voluntarily
contribute to the [Program] through a tax check-off
donation on their state tax return.
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Consistent with current efforts to support the California
Senior Legislature, this measure will allow California
taxpayers to empower young people through a proven and
successful program that motivates and inspires youth to
become active citizens in our state.
2)Proponents of this bill state, "The [Program] has been serving
youth for over 60 years and trains over 2,000 high school
students each year to learn about the legislative and judicial
systems and how to impact the development and adoption of
public policy." Proponents also state, "AB 2017 would allow
the [Program] to provide scholarships to students who do not
have the financial resources to attend this model program."
3)Opponents state, "This bill is similar to another bill, Senate
Bill 516 (DeSaulnier) that passed [the Assembly Human Services
Committee] last year. Although there are similarities between
these two measures, we feel that the outcome and goals of the
bills are strikingly different, which is why we must oppose
this measure."
4)Committee Staff Comments
a) The California Senior Legislature : This bill is roughly
modeled after the successful California Senior Legislature,
which is supported by the California Fund for Senior
Citizens checkoff on the PIT return. The California Senior
Legislature notes that, since 1981, it has labored to
identify, develop, and support legislative proposals that
protect and enhance the quality of life of California's
seniors.
b) The Source of Contention : This bill is also similar to
SB 516 (DeSaulnier), of the 2009 Legislative Session, which
is supported by numerous organizations including the
California Coalition for Youth (CCY). SB 516 establishes a
California Youth Legislature funded by a new VCF.
Specifically, SB 516 requires the California Youth
Legislature to examine and discuss issues affecting
California's youth and formally advise the Legislature and
the Governor on specific policy matters.
The California State Alliance of YMCAs (YMCA) opposes SB
516, arguing that the California Youth Legislature is
duplicative of the long standing Program it oversees. As
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such, YMCA recommends amending SB 516 to support its
existing Program. CCY, in turn, proposes a compromise
whereby the administration of the California Youth
Legislature would be determined in a "request for proposal"
process, open to competition. Apparently, YMCA finds this
compromise unacceptable. The author pulled the bill before
it could be heard in this Committee last year and it is
currently pending in this Committee.
c) Unclear Language : This bill provides that the Program
shall not be precluded from entering into mutually
agreed-upon interagency agreements for any subsequent
fiscal year. Committee staff is unclear on the purpose of
this language.
d) Related Measure : AB 1983 (Torrico), of the current
Legislative Session, would establish a new VCF to promote
outreach for the state's Safely Surrendered Baby Law. AB
1983 is scheduled to be heard in this Committee along with
this bill.
e) Potential Conflict : AB 2459 (Caballero), of the current
Legislative Session, seeks to add several of the same code
sections to the Welfare and Institutions Code. Should both
bills continue to progress through the Legislature,
amendments may be useful to avoid confusion. AB 2459 is
pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
f) Double-referral : This bill was double referred with the
Assembly Committee on Human Services, and passed out of
that Committee on March 23, 2010, by a vote of 4 to 0. For
additional discussion of this bill, please refer to that
committee's analysis.
g) Technical Amendments :
i) On page 4, line 10, insert, "Except as otherwise
provided in subdivision (b)," before "this article";
ii) On page 4, line 12, replace "Program" with "Fund";
iii) On page 7, line 12, replace "to" with "into"; and,
iv) On page 7, line 17, insert "of the Revenue and
Taxation Code" after "Division 2".
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Collaboration for Youth
California State Alliance of YMCAs
Opposition
California Coalition for Youth
Analysis Prepared by : M. David Ruff / REV. & TAX. / (916)
319-2098