BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 233
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Date of Hearing: March 7, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON REVENUE AND TAXATION
Henry T. Perea, Chair
AB 233 (Hall) - As Introduced: February 2, 2011
Majority vote. Fiscal committee.
SUBJECT : California YMCA Youth and Government Fund
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 all costs incurred in
administering the checkoff; and,
b) To the California YMCA Youth and Government Program, for
its ongoing activities on behalf of youth.
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.
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
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Committee staff estimates annual revenue losses
of roughly $15,000 resulting from itemized deductions.
COMMENTS :
1)The author has provided the following statement in support of
this bill:
The California YMCA Youth & Government Program (YMCA Y&GP)
is a statewide youth educational program annually involving
more than 2200 high school students in a yearlong "hands
on" civic experience. Since its inception 63 years ago,
the program has successfully used a variety of activities
to encourage high school youth �to] become involved,
responsible and respected citizens.
As part of the YMCA Y&GP, 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 Model Legislature
each February at the State Capitol.
Unfortunately, in recent years, costs to operate this
program and participant demand for financial assistance has
greatly increased making it difficult to maintain and
expand this important program for California youth.
AB 233 would allow state taxpayers to voluntarily
contribute to the California YMCA Youth & Government Fund
through a tax check-off donation on their state tax return.
Donations would be used to help finance the YMCA Youth &
Government Program and its ongoing activities on behalf of
youth.
Consistent with current efforts to support the California
Senior Legislature, this measure will allow California
taxpayers to empower young people through an important
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program that motivates and inspires youth to become active
citizens in our state.
2)Opponents state, "This bill is largely silent on how the funds
raised would be spent. Per the language of the bill, funds
would be spent "for its ongoing activities on behalf of youth"
and "pursuant to the purview of the YMCA Youth & Government
Board of Directors." Potentially, all funds contributed could
be spent on salaries and/or other administrative costs."
3)FTB noted the following implementation concern in its staff
analysis of this bill:
This bill would allow the Legislature to allocate funds
directly to a non-governmental entity. Typically voluntary
contribution funds are allocated to a state agency for
purposes of overseeing the expenditure of the funds.
Without an allocation to a state agency, the funds will be
prevented from reaching the California YMCA Youth and
Government Program. The author may wish to add language
that would allocate the funds to a state agency that would
be responsible for administering the funds to the YMCA
Youth and Government Program, such as the Department of
Social Services.
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) So Many Causes, So Little Space : There are countless
worthy causes that would benefit from the inclusion of a
new VCF on the state's income tax returns. At the same
time, space on the returns is limited. Thus, it could be
argued that the current system for adding VCFs to the form
is subjective and essentially rewards organizations that
can convince the Legislature to include their fund on the
form.
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c) A Tale of Two Checkoff Bills : This bill is similar to
legislation the author carried last year. As originally
introduced, AB 2017 (Hall), of the 2009-10 Legislative
Session, would have added an identically-named fund to the
PIT form to support the ongoing activities of the
California YMCA Youth and Government Program. The
California Coalition for Youth opposed the introduced
version of AB 2017, and instead supported SB 516
(DeSaulnier), of the 2009-10 Legislative Session, which had
been introduced the year prior. As heard in this
Committee, SB 516 would have established a California Youth
Legislature, funded by a new VCF, to examine and discuss
issues affecting California's youth and formally advise the
Legislature and Governor on specific policy matters. After
extensive negotiations, the authors of AB 2017 and SB 516
reached a compromise, whereby SB 516 was amended to delete
the separate checkoff fund, and AB 2017 was amended to
divide the bulk of fund moneys evenly between the existing
YMCA program and the newly established California Youth
Legislature. Both bills then passed the Legislature, and
both were then vetoed by the Governor. In his veto message
for AB 2017, the Governor noted:
This bill is contingent on the enactment of Senate
Bill 516, which I cannot support. I would ask that
the authors of these bills reconcile their efforts to
support greater youth involvement in public policy
without creating additional organizations when there
are numerous organizations and entities already
dedicated to working with youth from all backgrounds.
d) Suggested Amendments : Committee staff suggests amending
this bill to:
i) First allocate Fund moneys to an appropriate state
agency to ensure effective oversight; and,
ii) Limit the degree to which Fund moneys could be used
by the YMCA for non-Program related expenses.
e) Related Legislation : The following related bills have
been introduced in the current Legislative Session:
i) AB 564 (Smyth) would, among other things, add the
Municipal Shelter Spay-Neuter Fund to the form;
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ii) AB 764 (Swanson) would add the Victim-Witness
Assistance Fund to the form; and,
iii) AB 971 (Monning) would extend the current repeal
date for the current California Sea Otter Fund.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
California Coalition for Youth
Analysis Prepared by : M. David Ruff / REV. & TAX. / (916)
319-2098