BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1765
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1765 (Jones-Sawyer)
As Amended August 14, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(April 24, |SENATE: |33-0 |(August 19, |
| | |2014) | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: REV. & TAX.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the addition of a Habitat for Humanity Fund
(Fund) checkoff to the personal income tax (PIT) return upon the
removal of another voluntary contribution fund (VCF) from the
return.
The Senate amendments :
1)Provide that if a contribution is specified, but a designee is
not specified, the contribution shall be transferred to the
General Fund (GF) after reimbursement of the direct actual
costs of the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) for the collection and
administration of funds.
2)Specify that the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) shall be responsible for overseeing the
VCF's grant program.
3)Modify this bill's sunset provisions to provide that, except
as otherwise specified, the VCF provisions shall remain in
effect only until January 1 of the fifth taxable year
following the Fund's first appearance on the PIT return, or
January 1, 2021, whichever occurs first.
4)Provides that HCD shall be reimbursed for its administrative
costs.
5)Make technical corrections.
6)Add coauthors.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows taxpayers to contribute to one or more of 20 VCFs on
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the 2013 PIT return.
2)Provides a specific sunset date for each VCF, except for the
California Seniors Special Fund and the State Parks Protection
Fund.
3)Requires each VCF to meet an annual minimum contribution
amount to remain in effect, except for the California
Firefighters' Memorial Fund, the California Peace Officer
Memorial Foundation Fund, and the California Seniors Special
Fund.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Established the Fund in the State Treasury.
2)Provided that all money transferred to the Fund, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, shall be allocated to the:
a) FTB and the State Controller for reimbursement of all
costs incurred in administering the VCF; and,
b) HCD for grant distribution to Habitat for Humanity
affiliates in California that are in active status, as
specified, and that are exempt from federal income taxation
under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). These
grants shall be awarded through a competitive,
project-specific grant process. Moreover, affiliates shall
be precluded from using grant awards for administrative
expenses or for any purposes outside California.
3)Provided for the Fund provisions' automatic sunset 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 the FTB estimates that the annual contribution amount
will be less than $250,000, or an adjusted amount for
subsequent years.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : The author has provided the following statement in
support of this bill:
With bond funding exhausted and redevelopment funds
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eliminated, California is facing virtually no state
investment in affordable housing. At the same time,
Habitat for Humanity, a faith-based nonprofit
organization dedicated to building affordable homes
for families with limited incomes, has built,
rehabilitated, repaired or improved more than
[800,000] houses worldwide, providing simple, decent
and affordable shelter for more than [4] million
people. However, redevelopment's [dissolution] in
2011 greatly impacted Habitat's ability to fulfill its
mission. Allowing individuals to donate via their
income tax [?] return can raise hundreds of thousands
of dollars for Habitat for Humanity. This money will
be used for the sole purpose of building affordable
housing throughout California. In Louisiana, the only
other state that has a voluntary income tax check off,
the affordable housing fund raises an average of $5
million annually.
Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee comments:
Habitat for Humanity: According to its Web site, Habitat for
Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian ministry "founded
on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a
decent, safe and affordable place to live." The organization
has more than 1,500 local affiliates in the United States and
more than 70 national organizations around the world. Habitat
for Humanity estimates that it has helped to build or repair
more than 800,000 houses worldwide.
Habitat for Humanity affiliates: As noted above, this bill
directs HCD to distribute Fund moneys through grants to active
Habitat for Humanity affiliates in California. Affiliates, in
turn, are community-level Habitat for Humanity offices that
serve a specific area in partnership with and on behalf of
Habitat for Humanity International. Each affiliate coordinates
all aspects of home building in a local area, from fundraising
and building site selection, to house construction and mortgage
servicing. Affiliates operate within the framework of a
"Habitat Affiliate Covenant" but remain independently run,
nonprofit organizations. All affiliates are asked to tithe a
percentage of their contributions to fund house-building work in
other nations.
So many causes, so little space: There are countless worthy
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causes that would benefit from the inclusion of a new VCF on the
state's PIT return. At the same time, space on the return is
limited. Thus, it could be argued that the current system for
adding VCFs to the return is inherently subjective and
essentially rewards causes that are able to convince the
Legislature to include their fund on the return.
Analysis Prepared by : M. David Ruff / REV. & TAX. / (916)
319-2098
FN: 0004891